Evil Victini's Irrational Challenge Fever! (DISCONTINUED)
by Gengar the fluffball
Summary: Fifty-five Pokemon battle it out for a prize of one wish, granted by the mythical Pokemon himself: Victini! Who will win, who will lose? What kind of drama will unfold? Find out right now! I tried my best, but this description sounds super cliche...
1. Chapter 1: Let Me Out

**(EDIT: This TPI has been cancelled. So don't read this unless you want to read a TPI that has no ending. I am now working on Water Damage, the rebooted and better version of this TPI.)**

Hello, author here! This story is heavily inspired by Dark Arcanine 33's stories on fan . If you like to read these types of stories, I think you should check him out!

Before we start the story, I just wanna apologize for something. The number of contestants on this show is way too much. It originally started out as sixteen contestants, but I started adding a "few" more in. I kept thinking up of new characters and eventually...I ended up with fifty-five contestants. I tried to delete a character once, due to me thinking they were just some throw away character, but I ended up bringing them back anyway. They're actually important to the story this time around.

I really wanted to keep the limit down to twenty contestants, but I couldn't control myself. And now, I couldn't bear the thought of deleting them! I've grown so attached to the characters after trying to write this chapter for multiple months, so please, just excuse that whole...ordeal. Some characters may get barely get screen time, and some may even seem like...copies of other characters, but...I can't change it.

If there's going to be a season two, I promise, I'll keep the limit down so you don't have a horrible time trying to remember characters' names and species. So, once again, I'm really sorry. You shouldn't have to start writing names down with their species because of my _incompetence_.

In the end, the only thing I really changed about the cast is that I replaced one of the contestants. Sense the old one was basically just a less important, carbon copy of another character.

Oh, and if you're reading this Dark Arcanine...thank you!

Now, since this chapter is super long, I suggest you set your things aside and take a seat while reading. Well, unless you're not gonna read the whole thing in one sitting.

...

000

Mew and Victini were floating in the Hall of Origin's kitchen.

The Hall of Origin was a large, grand building, made specifically for all legendaries, and mythicals to live in. Maybe even ultrabeasts...

Mew, for the past few minutes, had been glancing wearily at Victini, feeling compelled to speak up.

Finally building up enough courage, he asked: "Is it too late to ask why I have to come along? Yeah, I mean- we're best friends, but that doesn't mean you have to pull me along everywhere with you!"

Mew had _mostly _no idea what was going on. He knew Victini was planning to start a reality show, and all he did was help Victini set up something after Victini said he would do him a favor in return. He didn't think he would end up taking part in it!

Victini huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. A deathly gleam was in his eyes. "Stop complaining! I need someone to help me out!" he explained. "Pretty much everyone else here hates me, and I'm not about to hire some random. _Especially _this late into production."

Mew frantically glanced around. His eyes immediately set onto the only other person accommodating the kitchen: ...Latios.

"Hey, Latios! Back me up here!" Mew called out, waving to him.

Latios stared blankly into the fridge, not even turning to address Mew. "I don't see the point..." he mumbled.

Mew took a deep breath, tilting his head down. "...You know, I have a life, too. I can't spend my time helping you... And for what? Nothing?" he told Victini.

Victini froze in place. He had a point there, but he wasn't backing down just yet! His expression softened as his shoulders loosened. "Come on, man. You're the only person I'd ever consider giving the co-host role to."

Mew's face fell. He just couldn't get the, 'everyone else here hates me,' part out of his head, making him seriously rethink his decision.

"(Victini... He's all on his own... He _needs_ someone to help him... I can't leave him his on own like this...)" Mew's solemn expression quickly turned to one of determination. "...Let's do this!" he agreed.

In one swift motion, Victini a clipboard with paper on it, and Mew's hand in his own. "I have everything planned out! So no more blabbering!" he teleported Mew and himself to a green, lush island. This is where they would be hosting Victini's show.

At some point, Latios had shut the fridge and was just watching their conversation in the reflection of the newly polished door. He shook his head. "(Victini guilt-tripped Mew into doing his bidding...)" he thought to himself. "(How am I not surprised...?)"

000

The two hosts were floating above a fairly empty beach, only being occupied by a few rocks jutting from the sidelines. That day specifically was due for strong winds, so sand had already begun to kick up from the ground.

Victini lifted his clipboard up to his face. The paper clipped onto it was a hastily written list of all of the contestants. "(One, two, three...)" he counted, double-checking the list. "(Okay, fifty-five contestants in total...)"

Near the docks of the beach, a camera crew, consisting of eight, were waiting for the two prior.

A short Hariyama controlling a fancy camera walked out from behind to scold Victini. "Where have you been?!" he started up. "We've been waiting for almost half a day!"

Victini held a blank expression. "Cool down, we're here. Yelling at me won't change anything." he reasoned.

The Hariyama froze, a look of bewilderment on his face. "Wha-? Half a day! _Half a day_!" he repeated. He shook his head. "You know what? Fine, your right! Yelling at you won't change anything, but just remember: we _don't_ work for you. So we don't have to follow _any_ orders you give us just because you're a mythical Pokémon." The Hariyama made a point to emphasize himself.

He turned around, giving Victini the side-eye before storming back off to the rest of the crew.

Listening to the worker's spiel confused Mew. "...? They don't work for you?" he asked. "I thought you owned this show..."

Victini shook his head. "Sadly, I don't." he answered. "Most of this stuff is funded by Arceus, including the camera crew."

Mew tilted his head. "How'd you get her to do that? She's not exactly the charitable type."

"I promised her that the show would end up being super successful and stuff, and she complied _surprisingly_..." Victini said.

"But...still... They technically work for you, under Arceus. What he said just wasn't true."

"They could quit anytime they feel like I'm being unreasonable. They're only staying for the high pay."

"Isn't that how a normal job works?"

Victini let out an irritated sigh. "Yes, except they don't HAVE to do this. All of them have other jobs they can go to once they stop working for me, so leaving wouldn't damage them financially in the slightest!"

"Ahhh..." Mew let out. "I get it... I think..."

Before Victini could face palm, a Lycanroc in Dusk Form diligently padded up to the duo. "Excuse me." he sternly requested.

Victini groaned and answered sharply, expecting the same attitude as the Hariyama. "Whaddya want?"

The Lycanroc kept a blank expression and his voice remained even. "We were just wondering: when will we start recording? The rest of the crew can't seem to stop complaining about the wait."

Victini tilted his head to look up at the sky, trying to think of an answer. "Hm... As soon as the boat gets here, which should be soon. So tell your friends to shut up!" he said.

The Lycanroc nodded and vacated the area.

Victini smiled and turned to Mew. "Great! Now, we wait."

Mew rolled his eyes before mumbling something along the lines of: "Oh brother..." Everything after that was incoherent.

000

Not too far from the island was a small boat, carrying fifty-four contestants. Inside one of the rooms, a Trevenant was speaking to himself on a refined voice recorder.

"Hello, my precious audience! Thanks for tuning in today. I'm your one and only, Titan Travis, abnormally over sized as always!" He giggled.

Travis looked off to his side and smiled as he began to fidget with the leaves on his wrists. "So, for today, and the next few weeks, I have something very _special_ planned out! I hinted at this earlier in the last podcast, but I joined a reality T.V. show!" His expression fell a little.

"Now, I know how bad these types of shows could get. You know, with all the drama and st-"

"Can you _fucking_ shut up! Seriously, I can feel the seat rumbling." came annoyed voice.

Travis turned his head to meet the eyes of a Snubble. Travis looked down and sighed as he hit the pause button on his recorder. "(Good thing this isn't live...)" he thought.

Feeling a little relieved at that fact, Travis turned back to the stranger. "I'm really sorry." he apologized. "It must have been annoying."

"Yeah, and your deep ass voice is hard to listen to, as well!" the Snubble complained. "Not to mention that you're, like, three feet taller than an average Trevenant!"

Sitting not too far from them, a Greninja stared on in resentment, ticked off by the Snubble's actions. "Hey, hey!" he called out. "What's your problem, dude? Stop shaming him. He can't control his voice, or his height, or anything for that matter!"

The Snubble scoffed, giving the Greninja a wry smile. "I didn't say he needed change himself. I'm just telling him to be quiet so we don't end up being in a live reenactment of Titanic. The waves are bad enough as it is." he spat.

The Greninja tugged on his 'scarf' nervously. "Then let it on lightly..." he asserted. "He has feelings too, ya know..."

Instead of responding, the Snubble just groaned and leaned back into the wall. He had his hands on his knees, staring up at the ceiling with a pained expression.

Travis glanced over to the Greninja, feeling the need to thank him, but with the Snubble still in mind, he kept silent. He really didn't want anger him more than he already had.

Travis looked down at the recorder in his hands and stashed it in his small blue duffel bag. "(...I'll finish the recording later.)" Feeling uneasy, Travis looked down and stuffed his hands in his 'lap' for the rest of the ride.

000

Around the front of the ship, a single Pokémon sat by herself on a folding chair. The Munna tapped her chin with a pencil before going back to writing on a worn out piece of paper. Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, pulling out her phone. She snapped a quick shot of the paper, sending it to a group chat.

Along with the picture, she wrote, "_Hey guys, these are the lyrics for this year's graduation speech. How are they?_"

Almost immediately, she got a response.

"_Ha! Cheesy as ever. Ujst like you."_

She groaned, responding. "_Learn how to spell, Tora! You bring shame to every Lucario in existence!_"

Letting out another groan, she crumpled up her paper, dropping her pencil. "Stupid jerk, _stupid jerk_."

She stuffed her garbage in her bag, ripping out another sheet from her notepad. "Stupid...jerk. I'm a middle-schooler, what do you expect? Perfection?!"

As the Munna stabbed the pencil down into the paper, her phone vibrated. She checked her messages.

"_They're well thought out and flow well together! Just like the original song! You can't even tell it's a parody. As good as it is, though...why are you writing your graduation speech so early? Your eighth year hasn't even begun yet."_

Nova shyly smiled. _"Thanks, Maria. I'm starting the speech now because...I just can't wait! I'm going to be a high-schooler in two years! It's so exciting!"_

Tora replied with another message. _"Don't get too excited. A lot of peiple in my school are just awful! There's this Gardevoir- I think her name is Lily- and she's just a horrible person. She's totally manipulative! She won't hesitate to use her looks to control all the guys at school. Maybe even some girls!"_

Nova blinked a few times. "Gardevoir?" she murmured. She replied to Tora's message with: _"They might not be the same person but...I saw a Gardevoir when I boarded the boat."_

...

_"God. Just...watch yourseld around her, omay?"_

Nova shook her head. _"I'll be fine." _she replied.

Maria joined the conversation once again, stating: _"It sounds like Nova can handle herself. So lay off, Tora!"_

_"Oh, sorrg. I guess actually caring about others is going too far."_

Nova laughed to herself watching her two friends squabble. She felt that it really sucked that they couldn't be there with her. But it made sense; these kind of shows have a bad reputation. The two even tried to stop Nova from joining, but they couldn't convince her.

000

About five minutes passed before the boat was in view of the island. Victini was sitting in the sand, staring off at the horizon with nothing better to do when he saw a boat peak over. His eyes lit up.

"Finally! It's here!" Victini cheered. The Victory Pokémon looked around the beach for Mew, but to his surprise, Mew was no were in sight.

"Mew? Mew?!" Victini called out.

...No response.

"Meeeeeew!" At this point, Victini was swinging his arms up and down in a large arc. The camera crew had begun giving him weird looks.

Feeling that he was gaining nothing from yelling his friend's name, Victini put it to rest and floated up to the camera crew.

"Alright, guys. Get ready. The contestants are almost here!" he informed. "Get into whatever positions you need to. Just make sure you catch every bit of footage you can, and that the cast don't notice you, alright? Well, except for when we're introducing everyone. I want you guys to stay out in the open."

A few of them nodded in response. This was enough for Victini, causing him to clasp his hands together. "Good! Leeet's do this!" he beamed.

000

"Welcome, viewers!" Victini exclaimed. "My name is Victini, _as you probably already know..._ And Mew is also supposed to be here, but I guess you'll see him later..." For a moment, you could see a glimmer of annoyance in Victini's eyes, but it quickly faded away.

"You're watching the fight of the year..." He pumped his fist up. "Evil Victini's Irrational Challenge Fever!" He grinned, proud of the show's name.

"This is a show where fifty-four Pokémon battle it out for a _special_ prize - a wish, granted by _yours truly._" he explained, bowing down. "Here's a brief explanation on how things are going to work around here: ...everyday, we'll hold at least one challenge; either a challenge that offers an advantage for the next one, or a challenge that determines which team loses. This will continue until we reach the final three or two. Last Pokémon standing wins. You've heard this all before, right?"

Victini glanced to the boat that was now coming to a halt in front of the docks. He put a hand on his hip, smiling. "Convenient. Anyway, all the contestants are here now, so let's get down to business and meet them. I know I'm excited!"

A few staff members of the boat moved around rapidly, gathering certain Pokémon and bringing them to the exit of the boat. Two Pokémon departed from the boat, walking down the ramp on the staff's orders. The first one was green and reptilian, and its head had yellow frills on the sides. A Kecleon.

The second Pokémon was also reptilian. It had an orange body with a cream-colored belly. He was a Charmander.

"Here we have the first two participants...Leonardo and Cameron!" Victini announced.

Leonardo (Kecleon) had his left arm slung around Cameron's (Charmander) shoulder. Cameron put on an uncomfortable visage, clearly not impressed by the lack of space between the two.

"Dude, stop being so touchy. We just met. And I...I think we're on camera!" Cameron's voice had a sense of urgency as he grabbed Leonardo's arm and tugged it away.

Victini used his power to further separate the boys by distancing them a few feet.

"...Hey, I was getting somewhere with him!" Leonardo complained. His arms dropped to his hips.

"No. No you were not." Victini deadpanned. Upon closer inspection, Victini could clearly see that Leonardo had a long, turquoise ribbon tied around his bare waist. Much like a sash. It was odd. It was rare to find a Pokémon who thought wearing any type of human clothing, other than hats, comfortable.

Leonardo nodded, a nervous smile growing on his face. "Deheheh..." he laughed. "I...guess I did go a little too far..."

"Anyway...Leonardo, Cameron, welcome to the show!" Victini greeted, extending his right hand to both of them.

"...Hi." Cameron awkwardly responded, accepting his handshake

Leonardo simply followed the Charmander's actions, taking Victini's hand.

"So, what made you guys wanna join the show? The wish? Maybe to meet some new people?" Victini asked. He didn't want the introduction to consist of _just _him greeting someone new fifty-five times. He needed to spice things up! Even if he was just starting idle chat.

"Well, to put it plainly, I wanted to have some fun. A lot of challenges I see on these shows look amazing! Except for the unreasonably dangerous ones of course. I wouldn't be complaining if I won the prize, though." Leonardo answered, accepting the handshake.

"My friends signed up for this show, and...I didn't want to be left by myself, so I just came along." Cameron shrugged his shoulders and held a disappointed expression. "Let's just hope I don't regret that later." He gazed past the beach and studied the area. "This place _doesn't_ seem so bad though... It's promising!"

"Uhhh, yeah, it better! I actually tried to make this place look decent for you guys!" Victini huffed. "Anyhow, you two can go over and wait in the cafeteria." he instructed, pointing to a light green building not far from them.

Hearing that, Leonardo immediately sprang to life with a cheery tone. "'Kay!" He marched to the cafeteria with enthusiasm.

Having nothing else to say, Cameron trailed behind Leonardo, distancing himself from the Kecleon. The next two Pokémon directed to walk off the boat were a Dratini and Popplio. They payed no mind to their surroundings as they strolled over to Victini.

"They say the teacher who was consumed by the school still has no idea she's dead, even to this very day..." the Dratini softly said. She seemed to be telling a story to the Popplio.

As if on cue, thunder banged and crackled, catching the Popplio off guard. He fell forward, tripping own his own 'feet'. "Aaah!"

Victini rubbed his chin, watching the Popplio's mishap. "(It's _really_ starting to get stormy out here...)"

The Dratini slithered up to the Popplio and hoisted him up with no trouble, despite having no limbs. "O-Oops..." the Dratini said. "Sorry,"

"Here we have our third and fourth contestants: Gemmi and Bubble!" Victini introduced, motioning to the both of them.

Gemmi (Dratini) nodded. "Hello! Thank you so much for picking me! I'm so glad to be here!" she replied.

"Yeah," Bubble (Popplio) agreed. "If there really are fifty-four other competitors here, like it said in the application, then that would give me so many chances to meet new people!"

"...Uh..." Victini started. "What about off of the island? Do you live in the middle of nowhere or something? This show isn't your only opportunity to be sociable." he remarked.

"Well..." Bubble smiled nervously. He had no idea how to respond to that. "Let's just say...I'm not the most popular Pokémon in my area."

Victini nodded slowly. "Right..." he said. "Well, it's time for the next pair of participants to come. You two can go and wait in the cafeteria." he informed, directing the two to the green building.

Gemmi nodded, and made her way to to the cafeteria with Bubble following suit. Without wasting another second, two new Pokémon departed from the boat. A Klefki and a Luvdisc.

"Here is Mist and Vanessa!" Victini introduced. Once the pair approached, Victini said, "Welcome, welcome! How are ya, guy-?"

Vanessa had been staring at Victini with a blank expression. After he started his introduction, she looked up to the sky and groaned in a **completely **monotone voice, "Oh my god, can you shut up?" Her gaze returned back to Victini. "Have you ever heard a metal fork scraping against a glass plate? Have you heard how annoying it sounds? That's what it sounded like when you talked to me."

"..." Victini lazily crossed his arms as his eyelids drooped. "Hey, a Luvdisc with a bitchy attitude. Where have I seen this before?"

No longer wishing to converse with Victini, Vanessa floated around him to the cafeteria. Not uttering a single word, Mist briskly hovered past her, passing Vanessa a bitter glance. Mist had a strong sense of justice, no matter how small the problem was, so Vanessa was definitely getting an earful once they were off camera. _Talk about social justice warrior..._

Victini watched the two's interactions in amusement. "Heh... Anyway, up next we have...Xavier and Rita!"

A blue, fuchsia, and black dragon flew off of the boat. He had three heads with fuchsia-colored collars around each of them. He was - evidently - a Hydreigon. The Pokémon beside him was smaller in comparison. She was green and had a leaf protruding from her head. She was a Chikorita.

"Hey, my man, Xavier!" Victini greeted. As soon as Xavier (Hydreigon) was in Victini's reach, Victini slapped him on the back, as if to say 'Welcome!'. This action came across as a bit more violent than intended, though.

Xavier quickly shoved Victini off, glaring daggers at him. "Don't touch me!" he venomously spat. He tried giving off the most intimidating look he could muster. Almost immediately, however, Xavier's faced morphed into one of shock, realizing what he just did. "I-I... I'm-" He cut himself off, unsure of how to finish his sentence. Shaking his head, he growled to himself.

Victini responded with an offended look. He turned to Rita (Chikorita). She was rubbing up against Xavier, with him letting out sounds of discomfort. This clearly wasn't consensual.

"Err...Rita? What are you doing?" Victini inquired. Seeing this scene unfold rose a few questions in his head.

"_Really? Rita?_" Xavier asked, turning to the Leaf Pokémon. "How unoriginal. That name won't even apply when she evolves!" he stated. Xavier's brash comments didn't seem to effect Rita, though.

"Whatever, just answer the question, Rita." Victini ordered, giving her a bored look with his arms folded.

"I mean, how could I resist? He's gorgeous!" Rita complimented, smiling with a raised eyebrow.

Xavier had a bewildered look. Who actually does this?! This is real life, it's not realistic at all! "You need a reality check!" he retorted.

Rita giggled. "Oooh, you know I love it when you flirt with me." she said, closing her eyes.

"No," Victini started. "What you two _need _is to go to the cafeteria. Now." he cocked his head back, signalling them.

Xavier groaned and flew away - Rita by his side unconventionally.

After the two had gained some distance, Victini turned back to them and shouted, "Oh, by the way! You're a dragon! With wings! Just _fly_ higher!"

...

"FUCK YOU!"

-000-

The next two instructed off of the boat were a Squirtle and a Kadabra. The Squirtle was gripping an oddly shaped suitcase with a gem decorating the center. Now, of course, everyone else had brought their own luggage with them, but this one in specific had easily stuck out.

The Squirtle held the triangular suitcase in front of himself. "Hi, my name is-"

"Winthrop." Victini finished. "Yeah I know, it's a unique name, and that you'd rather I call you Win, but I don't care."

"I like it," the Kadabra opined. "It's unique." The Kadabra was wearing a purple hooded-robe. His face was unreadable as it was completely shrouded in darkness. What you could see, however, was his shining golden eyes, along with his mustache which had been sticking out.

The Kadabra extended his left hand to reveal he also wore gloves, which color's resembled soot.

"I guess you're right..." Winthrop agreed, accepting the hand. "What's your name?" he asked. Winthrop focused his attention on the Kadabra's eyes which - although he had never seen before - had a strangely familiar, calming effect on him.

"Nothing special, it's Kip." Kip (Kadabra) replied. His voice was ethereal, and without even realizing it, Kip was slowly inching himself towards Winthrop.

"You seem to be getting along well, today. That's...that's nice." Victini inserted himself in between the two, blocking them from continuing their conversation any longer. "Well, move along now, I don't want half of the episode to be introducing all of you."

Kip stepped back and smiled. "Sure thing." He and Winthrop stepped aside to walk to the cafeteria.

"Okay, blah, blah, the next two are Arlo and Calvin." Victini shoulders loosened up and voice was sounded more irritated than anything.

An Aipom and a Cyndaquil walked down the ramp, eyes forward the whole time. Arlo (Aipom) was reflecting Victini's attitude, not so happy about how things were turning out.

"The regret of joining this show is already sinking in." Arlo drawled. He let out a contempt sigh, loosely holding a novel in one hand, along with his luggage.

"I'm guessing you didn't have _that_ enjoyable of a boat ride." Calvin (Cyndaquil) said. "Or at least...that's what I gathered."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it." Arlo said. "This Pancham kept on bragging and bragging on how _smart_ he is. I had to put up with that bullshit for an hour! He really _is_ a child."

"Oh, you mean Zevulun?" Victini asked. "Yeah, he's like that."

"That's his name?" Arlo questioned. "Then yes, I hope I never have the displeasure of even looking at him again."

Victini sported an unsavory grin. "Well then are you gonna love this show; most of the contestants are just as annoying!" he cackled.

With cold eyes, Arlo looked back to Victini. "That really wasn't funny."

"Okay, okay," Victini lightly laughed. "Time to go to the cafeteria, see ya." He pointed behind himself with a finger.

Arlo shook his head and continued his way onto the cafeteria. Calvin looked at Victini with a confused expression before shrugging and going after Arlo.

"The only really bad contestant so far was that Luvdisc." Victini said, turning his attention to the camera. "Anyway, the next two are Nemeia, and Marshall."

A Persian began to walk down the docks, slowly, as if she was on a catwalk. The Duskull who exited the boat with her simply floated past.

Victini stared at the Persian with quizzical eyes. "...Uhhh...Nemeia?"

After Nemeia (Persian) stopped flaunting her body, she paused in front of Victini. She smirked. "How are you two, stale loaves of bread, doing today?"

"Stale loaves of bread? Yikes..." Victini commented.

"Yikes? What's that supposed to mean?" Nemeia began to twist her paws into the sand.

Victini floated down to reach her eye level. "Exactly what I said. Yikes." he repeated.

"That's the weirdest insult I've ever heard." Marshall inputted. He tried to distance himself from Nemeia, but she only moved closer.

Nemeia innocently smiled, completely oblivious to the grief she was causing Marshall. "Insult?" she asked. "I think you might be mistaken."

"Well then that was one hell of a compliment." Marshall said. The Duskull eyed Nemeia up and down suspiciously, uncertain on whether this was _actually_ how she acted or not.

Breaking from his own thoughts, Marshall shook his head and asked Victini, "Are we done?"

Victini brushed his fingers through his hair and nodded. "...Moving on, next we have Vontell and Brazier."

Hearing this, Marshall teleported himself and Nemeia away, presumably to the cafeteria.

000

**[Leonardo's POV]**

To pass the time, I pulled out my phone and began to watch YouTube videos. Thinking back on it, I was being very, very cringe worthy. Looks like another item to add to the list of embarrassing memories. WHY AM I SO GAY?!

It took a lot of courage just to say hi to that Charmander! But... I guess if he doesn't find me attractive, then so be it. I won't force myself onto people who don't like me.

I blankly stared at my phone, watching an episode of a reality T.V. show, hoping to pick up something useful from it. While listening to the video with my headphones popped on, I could hear muffled sounds of the doors opening

My head impulsively tilted up. And there, I saw before my eyes...

...

...

...

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL MAN IN THE WORLD!

I'm not exaggerating! This Pokémon is...

I ripped off my headphones and slammed them onto the table. I think I just broke them, but who cares?! I need to introduce myself!

It was as if all of my nerves about meeting someone new had come to a sudden halt, and dissipated.

I proudly marched up to Pokémon that had captured my eyes. I paused for a moment to ponder what I would introduce myself with, but my super gay conclusion was: "U-Uh, hi."

The Hydreigon in front of me, turned to me, confused. As soon as he saw my the blush stretched across my face, his own morphed into one of disgust. "God, I'm going to crazy!" he grunted.

I unconsciously raised my right arm and latched on to my left arm, rubbing it. "...Huh...?"

He raised one of his smaller heads, shaking it as if he was trying to shoo me away. "Look, dude, I'm not interested."

It was like he was trying to put me down easily, but failing horribly. How did he even know what my intentions were?

He turned to his other side. There was a Chikorita, cuddling up to him.

I put on a dejected look and stared at the ground. I immediately jumped the gun. "...Oh...is...she your girlfriend? ...I-"

"Girlfriend?! Oh no, no, no! Ah, ew..." he corrected. "I was just gonna say, the same goes for her - I'm _not_ interested." Xavier explained.

He glared at the Chikorita the hardest anyone has ever glared in existence. "Ya here me? Go away!"

His message certainly didn't get across to the Chikorita, it was like she was purposely shut out any negative comments from the Hydreigon. She just kept cuddling away, as if her life depended on it.

"Aww..." she said. "Glad to know you're on my side, today."

It bothered me. A lot actually. My nerves were getting the best of me again! Right after I thought I'd overcome them, too. I shunted these feelings deep down, unwilling to even entertain them.

"(I can't be nervous! I know I said I wouldn't force myself upon others...)" I shook my head. "(...But I can't give him up this easily!)"

Putting my hands on my hips, I chirp, "Oh, that's fine! ...But don't think I won't stop trying!" I gave him a wink.

"W-What?! Did you not just hear what I just said?!" the Hydreigon asked.

He continued to rant about something, but I wasn't listening.

"Hmmhmmhmm..." I laughed to myself.

000

**[Meanwhile...]**

A Vanillite strolled down the docks with a cheery attitude, practically showing off the camera strung around his body. A Bulbasaur was following him close behind, seemingly not bothered.

The camera the Vanillite looked expensive. It was shiny, like it was new, and had many buttons crowding the top and the front. It was very...extra...to say the least...

"Oh, my, gosh," the Vanillite gasped. He lifted his extravagant camera with his tiny 'hands'. "It's really Victini! A real, living, mythical Pokémon!"

"Did you have to specify 'living'?" Victini asked. "I don't look dead, do I?" He quickly checked himself over.

The Vanillite flashed a quick picture of Victini, catching him off guard. He raised his hands to shield his eyes. Along with that, he said, "Hey, _Vontell_!"

"Oh, sorry..." Vontell (Vanillite) apologized. He lifted the camera back to his face to check how the photo turned out. "It's just- this is so exciting! It's not everyday you go out and meet one of the most famous Pokémon in the world!"

The Bulbasaur by his side spoke up. "That may be true, but isn't illegal to take pictures of others without their permission?" he asked.

"Oh please, Brazier. If that was true, then you'd never be able to take a picture in public." Vontell argued. "It's only illegal to take pictures on private property."

Victini jumped in the conversation. "Look, I don't care. It's fine. We're literally being recorded right now, so it doesn't even matter."

Vontell grinned and turned to Brazier (Bulbasaur). "See? He said it's okay. Don't be such a worrywart."

"Worrywart?" Brazier asked.

"Yeah, yeah." Victini intervened. "Take your conversation to the cafeteria, it's time to introduce the next two."

"...If you say so..." Vontell responded. Complying, the contestants followed Victini's directions, heading to the cafeteria.

The next two contestants soon departed from the boat. An Eevee and a Pikachu.

The Eevee put a paw over her mouth in shock. "Gosh, you must be Victini!" She extended her other paw and shook Victini's hand vigorously.

Victini jumped, not expecting such a burst of energy. "Yup, in the flesh!" he said, letting go of the Eevee's paw.

Victini turned to the camera once more, wasting no time. "Here we have our next two, Echo and Phoenix." he introduced.

Echo (Eevee) jumped to Victini and embraced him in a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you for picking me! Now I can make new friends, meet new people! This is a huge opportunity, thank you!"

"Uh...you're welcome?" Victini was a bit taken back by the hug. "(Man... I really lucked out when picking these contestants. This is probably the blandest one I've seen so far...)"

Within blink of an eye, Mew appeared. Whatever problems he had to deal with had been taken care of at that point. "I'm here, I'm here, d-did I miss anything?!" he frantically asked. He looked like a nervous wreck - and his fur had been ruffled, for...some reason?

Eevee let go of Victini, allowing him to say, "Yup. The introduction, and _quite _a few contestants. Overall, good first impression to the viewers."

Mew began to straighten and tidy up himself. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I just remembered something I had to take care of; it was super important!" he defended.

"_Yeah_, right. What were you even doing anyway? This is much more important!" Victini shot back. He crossed his arms in a fit.

The Pikachu, who had stayed quite up until now, intervened. "Hey, Victini. It's Mew's personal business!"

Victini scornfully watched as Mew finished composing himself. "Right...personal business..." he muttered. He turned back to Echo and Phoenix (Pikachu) and huffed. "Anyway, go to the cafeteria, please." he instructed, exerting a nod from the two.

"Well...with that aside," He had already gotten back into 'game host' mode. "The next contestants are Jordan and Loek."

A Jumpluff began walking towards them, with all of her attention on a small rectangular device - her phone. As soon as she neared Mew and Victini, she put it away in a brown messenger bag.

"Jordan! Hey, welcome to the island!" Mew greeted. He turned to Victini, speaking in a whisper. "_This is Jordan, right?_" Victini nodded silently. "Uh, yeah, hey Jordan!"

He looked around, confused. "...Uh...where's the other one? Loek?"

"I dunno..." Jordan (Jumpluff) responded. Her phone began to vibrate, signalling her to check it. "Sorry, I gotta take this call." She quickly headed to the cafeteria. Although, it wasn't not like it was going to get any quieter in there.

A Litten came rushing out of the boat onto the docks. "Oh my gosh! I'm SO sorry that I'm late! I thought I lost my notebook and I was literally going crazy..." he explained, shaken a bit. "Are you upset?" he asked Victini.

"Well, I'm...not very amused, to say the least..." Victini answered.

"I can't believe I almost missed the _introduction _and blew my chances before our first challenge." Loek rambled.

"Hey, you have just a high chance of winning as anybody else here." Mew asserted. "Who knows? If you win, you could get anything with the prize!"

"Who knows?" Loek repeated, smiling. He began to walk to the cafeteria, laughing to himself.

Once he was out of earshot, the gossiping began.

"I bet a million Poké he's getting eliminated first." Victini whispered.

Mew crossed his arms and glared. "Victini." he affirmed.

Stifling another laugh, Victini turned to Mew. "Alright, only thirty-five more mentally deranged teenagers to introduce!" He stretched his arms. "Rrrgh, I just want this segment to come to a close already!"

Mew quickly interjected. "Hey, you're the one who decided to let on more contestants than the average human lifespan!" he exaggerated.

"_Sorr-y_, I just wanted to have more contestants than usual, Mewcus!" Victini said.

"...Mucus?"

Victini nodded. "Mhm! Now stop complaining you big baby!"

Mew kept quiet, but gave Victini a negative look. "(...Hypocrite...)"

Completely turning around, Victini said, "Okay, next we have - the Pancham with the inflated ego, Zevulun. Oh, and the other generic character who will probably have no significance: Ann!"

A Tympole vacated the boat, seeming not so thrilled with the Pancham accompanying her.

"You know, ever since I took my school's finals a week ago, my principal is forever trying to get me to enroll into Harvard at my age, and - and it's true, I kind of enjoy learning about new things! I do! But..." Zevulun (Pancham) complained before trailing off. "Everyone tries to explain everything to me! Like I'm some brainless troglodyte who can't work out trigonometry! And I'm having to... I'm getting tired of-"

Ann's (Tympole) only response was, "Okay, Zevulun, no one cares that...you got a high score on your finals, or that your principal wants you to enroll in some high-class university... Or- or even the fact that you can do trigonometry! I know what you're doing, ugh!" She had interjected to verbally shush the Pancham. It was clearly futile to do so, however, as Zevulun clearly didn't care, and continued to ramble on about his _'hard' _life.

Bearing through the torture, Ann hopped up to the two hosts, greeting them. "Hey, guys. Great to meet you both." She raised her tail for a 'high five'.

Mew and Victini gladly took the 'high five'. "Welcome to the show!" Mew said.

Ann turned to look at Zevulun (Pancham). "Quick question: why did you pick him, out of everyone who COULD have joined? _Major_ mistake in my opinion..."

Zevulun crumpled his face with disdain. "Hold on... So now you're _criticizing _me?!"

Ann shook her head in disapproval. "Yes, Zevulun, that's exactly what I'm saying."

Victini followed Ann's actions. "I don't know why we picked him, Ann. _I just don't know..._"

Following the same routine, Mew pointed to the cafeteria. "You guys can go wait inside now..."

Strangely enough, Zevulun obliged. He didn't bat an eyelash as he turned away. Ann followed behind a fair distance away from Zevulun, not wanting to get caught up in another nonsensical rant.

Victini let out an annoyed sigh. "I don't know how many times I've said this, but our next contestants are...Diancie and Mack!"

Mew huffed, crossing his arms. "You're acting ridiculous!"

As soon as Mew finished speaking, everything became dark. Like a spotlight being shut off. It was quiet, too. Eerily quiet. This was unplanned beyond Mew and Victini.

"V-Victini! What's happening?! It's dark!" Mew expressed his worries, and was stroking his tail out of stress.

"Don't you think I can see that?!" Victini thundered. "I don't know what's happening either!" With the tip of his 'finger', he lit a small fire and brought himself closer to Mew.

"Why is the fire so small, you can do better than that?!" Mew complained.

Victini stared blankly at Mew's body. His fear was blatantly obvious, as he was shaking uncontrollably.

Victini slowly raised his his right paw, and was about to place it on Mew's shoulder when the sound of a light clicking on could be heard.

Almost instantly, Victini spun around to face the source of the sound. There was a single light, coming from the sky, shining down on the docks.

...Shining down on Diancie.

"Goooooood evening, everybody!" Diancie energetically hopped her way to Mew and Victini, with a small Carbink (Mack) behind her. The spotlight had followed her the whole way.

"What are you doing?!" Victini questioned. At this point, he had put the fire out, and was just glaring at Diancie.

Diancie cackled at his question.

"(She's acting like I'm supposed to know the answer already!)"

Diancie laughed. "Eyahahah! You see, Vic, since I'm mythical, I can do **whatever** I want! All legendary and mythical Pokémon _must _have a good introduction!"

"(You surely aren't giving yourself a good introduction with that mythical crap...)" Victini groaned. "Figures you'd say that." he bemoaned. "Now, can you change the island back to normal? I'm tired of waiting!"

Diancie hesitantly and begrudgingly nodded her head, before snapping her fingers, returning the island back to its normal state.

"Thank you!" Victini yelled, annoyed. With no hesitation, he teleported Diancie and Mack away.

"Hey, you didn't even give Mack the chance to speak!" Mew told Victini.

"Sorry, sorry. I just- can't stand Diancie!" He turned to Mew. "It's like she's put to get me! Even though I've never done anything to her! Everyone at the The Hall of Origin is like that!" Victini's face softened. "Well...everyone except you."

Mew's eyes widened. "I-"

"A-ANYWAY, we're almost halfway done!"

Mew's shoulders dropped, still hung up on Victini's last sentence. He heard so much emotion in Victini's voice, yet he had no idea what he was thinking. He sighed. "(...I just wanna know how you _really _feel...)"

"Mew!"

Mew gasped. "Ah?!"

"Did you hear me? I said we're almost _halfway _done!"

Mew held his arms together, looking down at the sand. "Uh, right... Yeah. Wait..._halfway_? I thought there were only twenty-seven contestants. Is there more? Sorry, I've been spacing a lot out today."

Victini groaned. "Are you serious?!" He grabbed the list of contestants and flipped it over to show Mew. "There's still a bunch more contestants! Were you even listening when I told you that stuff?! I even told you, not too long ago, that there were thirty-five contestants left to introduce!"

Mew looked the list over and let out a depressed sigh. "...I guess not..." he admitted. "But seriously, fifty-five contestants is overdoing it!"

Victini thought Mew was over exaggerating. "No, it's not. I've seen reality shows that have done way more!"

"More than fifty-four, huh...?" Mew meekly looked to the ground before looking back up to Victini. "There must've been a bunch of problems with that show."

"You'd be surprised..." Victini replied, praising the unnamed show.

A momentary tension filled the air.

Victini turned back to the docks, breaking the awkward silence. "Moving on, we have twenty-seven more contestants to introduce. So let's make it snappy!"

Mew just crossed his arms and furrowed his brow. He was getting tired of it, too.

"Okay, our next pair of participants are...Robin and Zero!" Victini announced.

Following the same procedure, a Salandit strolled off the boat. He held his tail high and head up, full of confidence.

Mew said, "He seems fairly self-assured."

Zero (Salandit) continued to proudly march up to Victini, and when he reached his destination, Victini had nothing to say except for: "Where's Robin?"

Victini turned his head both ways, searching for the missing participant, but all he saw was Mew and Zero. "...?"

Zero took this as his chance to gloat. "Well, that's just too bad for her." he arrogantly stated. "Good for me, though. That's just more dead weight I have to pick have."

And with that, any positive opinions Mew had about the lizard immediately disappeared. "(...Oh... He's _that_ kind of person...)"

Nonetheless, he had his own response to the Salandit's incompetence. He chuckled and turned to Victini. "Forget Loek! Zero is absolutely, positively leaving first!"

Zero was taken aback, by the feline's comment. He shook the feeling, but it was still bugging him. "Umm... I- uhh...need to leave now." he said, speed walking to the cafeteria. "Gottagobye!" he quickly added.

To his relief, no one tried to stop him. Zero gulped, feeling a wave of reassurance wash over him once he walked through the cafeteria's doors.

"Wow..." Victini said. "He has no backbone." He continued on with the introduction, as if nothing happened. "Okay, so, the next two contestants are...Lance and Grayson!"

Mew shook his head as he held himself. "(...I guess Robin is irrelevant, now...)"

A Pineco and a Whiscash started making their way down the docks. The Pineco had been keeping his distance from the Whiscash.

"...Filthy piece of..." Grayson (Pineco) said under his breath. He absolutely hated all non-bug types with a burning passion.

Met with an icy glare from Grayson, Lance shivered severely. "H-Hi, my name is u-uhhh...Lance..."

"H-H-H-H-H-HI!" Victini repeated, mocking the Whiscash.

Lance gave Victini a bitter look. "Th-That was a bit unnecessary..."

"I agree." Mew said, nodding his head.

Lance narrowed his eyes before turning around and attempting to float his way back to the boat. His hopes were immediately crushed, though, as he was teleported back to the cafeteria by Victini.

Grayson watched Lance's torment with smug eyes. He enjoyed it! Chuckling, he decided to ask Victini: "Hey, inferior, does anyone else here have a bug typing?"

Victini took a moment to dwell on Grayson's question. "...Actually, yeah...there's two more." he answered.

Grayson's eyes lit up when he said that. Unbeknownst to him, they would both end up completely disliking him, along with everybody else.

"Now...I would point you in the direction of your next location, but since you called me 'inferior'..." Victini lazily lifted a finger, taking Grayson up with it. "...I'll just take you there myself!"

He swiped his finger through the air.

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Victini had slammed Grayson into one the cafeteria's windows with all his power, completely shattering it into pieces.

Not expecting that kind of twist, Mew whimpered. "...! Victini!" His arms were crossed above his chest out of fear. "G-Grayson! Y-You..."

"Whaaat? He'll walk it off!" Victini assured. "Or well...at least he'll _have _to." He glanced to the remaining competitors on the boat. "...Let that be a warning for you guys..." Most of them quickly nodded to avoid confrontation, but a few of them held blank expressions, one of them even scowled back.

Ignoring the scowl, Victini announced,"Here comes, Pax, a seventeen year old, as he _should_ be. And Sage, a thirteen year old. I don't even know how he managed to get on the show, but he did."

A Greninja sped walk off the boat, towing his luggage. Accompanying the Greninja was an Elekid, and judging from his size, you could easily tell he was a middle schooler.

"Hey-o!" Sage (Elekid) greeted. He waved his left arm up and down, full of energy.

Gingerly, the Greninja from before spoke up. "Hi, I'm Pax Aquirre. I'm a junior from St. Kirisa-"

"Whoa, whoa." Victini held his hands out in front of himself. "What's with the formal introduction? And why did you tell me your what school you go to? You don't wanna be releasing that information to the millions of people watching this!"

Pax furrowed his brow. "Grr... Sorry about that. I'm used to meeting other people from different schools, and that's just my usual greeting."

Hearing that piqued Sage's interest. "Oooh, so are you apart of a sports team? A band maybe? I rarely talk to anyone outside of my school other than my parents."

Pax chuckled to himself. "...I guess you could say that..." he replied.

Sage tilted his head in confusion. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Pax jumped a bit, not expecting the question. He stuttered when answering, as if coming up with something on the spot. "I...I'm apart of the...News C-Club." he sputtered.

Sage nodded his head slowly, unsure of whether if Pax was being truthful or not.

"Are we just gonna ignore the fact that you let a child onto this show?" Mew asked, passing Victini a glare.

Sage said, "A child? As if! I'm thirteen!" Although he thought he could handle himself, what he said wasn't helping his case all that well.

"Hey, he's technically a teen." Victini insisted. "Good enough. Next pair of contestants! Next!" he commanded.

Pax and Sage vacated the docks, making room for the next two to come.

A Honchkrow marched his way to the hosts. He was laser-focused on the road ahead, not even turning to look back at the Munna behind him, nor saying a word.

"Here we have Holt and Nova!" Victini announced.

Holt (Honchkrow) was basically taking up the entire dock with his gigantic body. He had no sense of space.

Nova (Munna) was waiting for an opportunity to push past Holt. "Jeez, Holt! You can be so insensitive sometimes!" Nova glowered. "Please, move!" She was prepared to use one of her moves on him.

Holt shot her a glare. "You can't tell me what to do, you're not my boss!" He carried a bit of a New Yorker accent.

"Seriously?!" Nova asked. "As a teen, this is how you act!? I'm in seventh grade! You're in eleventh! Learn to get over yourself!"

Holt rolled his eyes and stopped directly in front of her.

"You guys have such...award-winning personalities..." Victini commented sarcastically. "I think that's enough screen time for the viewers. Now, _please_ go to the cafeteria."

Nova, with all of her power, pushed forward, which did absolutely nothing. Holt laughed off her efforts and continued to march forward, eventually making it to the cafeteria, with Nova running around him once she got the chance.

A Spinarak came off of the boat scurrying his way on the docks. A Zangoose had also come off, wearing an anime t-shirt, holding a body pillow, and more luggage.

"Alright, here are our next two contestants, Satoshi and Jared!" Victini introduced as they approached.

"Hey, Satoshi, Jared!" Mew greeted, waving wildly. It looked like he was trying to jump start a party. But in response, he was met with awkward silence.

"Why do you look so scared?" Victini asked Satoshi, grinning creepily. He was planning to exploit everyone's fears for one of the challenges.

Satoshi hung his head low and refused to speak. He slowly backed away, hiding himself behind Jared.

Ignoring the deafening silence, Jared was as cheery as ever. "Hi, guys!" he greeted, waving his free arm. He then proceeded to make a completely unrelated anime reference that no one would understand. "There's no doubt about it... The killer is...YOU!" he recited, pointing to Mew.

Mew stifled a laugh and turned towards Victini. "I...think you're pointing to the wrong person..." he claimed.

"He's right, you know..." Victini said darkly. He lifted up a single finger, taking Jared and Satoshi with him. He smiled. "See you!"

"Bu-Bu-But, you gu-" Jared stuttered. Before the Zangoose could protest any further, Victini quickly teleported them to the cafeteria.

"Ahhh... Things are going by much faster now..." Victini sighed happily. "Alright, here comes Maxine and..." He groaned, interrupting himself. "_Cosmoem_..." he resented.

Cosmoem slowly descended from the boat. He held an detached smile, staring down at the others like they were pests.

Beside Cosmoem came a Yamper. It was like she was the exact opposite, she was smiling goofily, giving off a positive aura.

Once she was close enough, Maxine exclaimed, "Greetings, kiddos!"

Mew crossed his arms and looked away. "Um... we're both _thousands _of years older than you."

"Than maybe you should try acting like it! " Cosmoem chirped, trying to get on Mew and Victini's nerves.

Victini was getting pissed off just by the sight of Cosmoem. As bad as he was himself, Cosmoem was much worse. He couldn't tell if Cosmoem was intentionally being nightmare-fuel for fun, or if he was actually just insane, but he always picked the latter.

"Rrgh..." Victini groaned. "Why are you here Cosmoem? Just like Diancie, you don't have a reason to be here. I may not have brought it up when she was here, but that doesn't mean I won't exclude her."

"My, Victini. What's with the bad attitude? Could it be that your still hung up about me breaking you and Meloetta up?" Cosmoem claimed, the smug grin never wiping off of his face. "I assure you, she was no good for you! She-"

Victini was boiling. This teasing needed to stop! Now!

"-was only feeding your anger, it just wasn't healthy."

Victini opened his mouth, ready to talk back, but Mew beat him to it.

"Victini, please don't. This is exactly what he wants. For you to get angry." Mew advised.

Victini was about to heed Mew's warning, but Cosmoem had something else to say about it.

"You know, Mew is another glaring problem in your life. He's not _really _your best friend. He's really only here because of the profit he makes from it." Cosmoem's smile was no longer a creepy one, but a complacent one. He looked back at Victini with scornful joy.

Maxine was only left to sit back and watch the whole argument unfold. "(Well, this is very unprofessional... I kinda like it...)"

"Maybe instead of telling others how to live their lives, you should fix up yours first. Literally everyone hates you. Take the hint!" Victini proclaimed.

Cosmoem only laughed mockingly. He really didn't care about other's opinions, did he?

"Hmph!" Victini let out.

Met with a glare of pure anger, Cosmoem only smiled. Victini quickly teleported the two contestants away with no hesitation.

"Finally... Oh my Arceus..." Mew expressed. "I hate him too..."

"Yeah, I would _love_ to personally kick his ass." Victini agreed.

Putting aside the whole ordeal, Mew and Victini greeted the next two contestants.

A small pink Pokémon, resembling a pair of cherries hopped off boat, along with a large, gray, lavender colored Pokémon behind her. His size basically towered over her. They were a Cherubi and a Golisopod.

When they both neared, Victini started talking, just to make sure they would both hear what he was about to say. "Ahhh...Zenith...how does it feel to finally get out of **prison**?" Victini emphasized.

Zenith (Golisopod) let out a low growl at the mention of that word.

"...Huh?" Berri (Cherubi) said. "Prison?"

"...Hey, it wasn't prison. ...I'm still a minor, so I just to Juvenile Court." Zenith deconfirmed. His reputation was already down in the mud, why make it any worse?

Berri continued with the blank stare. "...That doesn't really...make things better."

"No it doesn't." Victini reiterated. "Now, please go to the cafeteria. I won't hesitate to throw you." He nudged his head to the shattered window not too far back.

Berri glanced to what Victini was motioning to. "...That's...pretty bad."

The lack of emotion coming from the Cherubi was starting to piss off Victini. "I'll take that as a no..." he hummed to himself, lifting them up into the air.

Zenith, trying to break free from the host's power, cried, "Put me down you sadist!" He was flailing around helplessly.

Victini laughed at his expense. "Not like you're any better..." he said, before ultimately throwing them through the same exact window.

Mew stiffened up. "Maybe you should stop..." he warned.

Mew was being completely serious, but in direct defiance of that suggestion, Victini said, "They'll be fine... don't worry..." He batted away Mew's proposition like he was some annoying little brother.

Mew replied with an unimpressed look. He knew his words were never gonna get through to him.

Wholly changing the topic, Victini publicized, "Oh - and here comes Charlotte and Octavia!"

A Pokémon resembling a mime walked off of the boat, along with a short, orange mouse with red cheeks. They were a Mr. Mime, and a Dedenne.

The Mr. Mime rushed up to Victini, quickly reaching into her bag to pull out...a microphone. She held up the microphone to Mew face, saying, "Mew, what made you decide to start a trashy reality show?" she interrogated.

"What?! I didn't come up with idea!" Mew responded.

"Have you always been known to take advantage of others and manipulate them?" she continued.

"What do you mean take advantage of others? I didn't do anything!" Mew exclaimed.

"Was there a motive behind all of this?"

"What are you-?"

"Octavia, what the hell are you doing?!" Victini intervened. He was standing impatiently to the side of the two.

Octavia's (Mr. Mime) right arm drooped back to her side. "You know, a little verbal sparring. I'm practicing for my big moment when I'm old enough to become a reporter." She slowly and gingerly placed the microphone back into the bag that was hanging over her shoulder.

"Well don't do it now! Especially when this moment is gonna be your big first impression to the viewers." Victini advised.

Charlotte (Dedenne) gave Octavia a glare. "I'd hate it if someone ran up to me and started asking a bunch of false questions! You need to do a better job at greeting people."

Octavia shrugged, not really caring. "Show business I guess..."

"Yeah, okay. We get it. You're annoying..." Victini said. "Get going to the cafeteria! You're taking too long."

The two obliged, making room for the next pair to come.

Mew looked away, "Moving on... The next two contestants are...Drew and Grover!"

A Noivern with an electric guitar came onto the docks along with Snubble that had a "hmph!" expression on his face.

Drew (Noivern) was eccentric. He had been counting down the days until the show started. "This game is gonna be so much fun! I can't believe I'm actually here!"

Grover (Snubble) glowered. "Probably not! I've seen enough of these shows, and every challenge gets progressively worse, and more dangerous than the last!"

Drew gazed at Grover with tenderhearted eyes, full of determination. "Don't be like that, Gro. An attitude like that _surely_ won't get you far in life! Besides, this show can't be all that bad..." he beamed.

Grover rolled his eyes. "_God_..." Drew's attitude reminded him of one of his teachers teachers who always tried to get him into the spirit of things. It really bothered him. He even gave him a nickname!

"I doubt that..." Mew laughed, responding to Drew.

Drew tilted his head at Mew's statement. "...!" He felt a sudden force push him forward.

Victini shoved Drew and Grover in the direction of the cafeteria. "Get a move on! It's time for the next contestants!"

Grover glared at Victini before moving forward, Drew right next to him.

A Mawile and an Amaura walked down the rickety docks, completely ignoring each other. It was like they had made some sort of unspoken agreement before this moment to not speak to each other, only communicated through looks.

"Hello, Tina, Viola. Welcome to Evil Victini's Irrational Challenge Fever!" Victini greeted. "Good name, isn't it?"

Tina (Mawile) kept silent for a moment, stuck on an answer. "...You're joking." she deadpanned. Her tone made it sound like she _wanted _to believe it was a lie.

Shocked by Tina's blunt answer, Victini gasped, "_What_?"

Viola (Amaura) slowly nodded her head, keeping silent.

"It sounds like a four year-old made it." Tina continued.

Victini crossed his arms and tilted his head up. "You know what? I'm tired of this ear-bashing! Just go!" he commanded, pointing to the cafeteria.

The girls exchanged glances of unsurety before walking to the building.

Suddenly, a Sylveon began to walk on the docks. She walked slowly and haughtily, trying to get attention. Bit by bit, she surveyed the audience she had gathered on the boat, which was really only one person.

Victini wasn't exactly on board with this - a fact which he made abundantly clear. "Hey, get back on the boat, attention whore!"

The Sylveon gasped, not expecting such a response. "(Who the hell does this loser mythical think he is?!)"

She whimpered, "I'm sorry..." and began to walk back on the boat, not knowing how else to react. Right before she boarded the boat again, however, she flashed Victini a frighteningly intense look.

"(Did I really just do that)?" she thought. "(Wow, way to go out of character, me!)"

In defense of the Sylveon, a Gardevoir on the boat yelled: "What is wrong with you guys?!"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with us..." Victini answered. "What's wrong is that Pearla didn't wait for us to introduce her!"

"So? You don't have to yell at her!" the Gardevoir shot back. "In fact, there were a bunch of people before her that went on without being introduced, so why are you even complaining?!"

This answer seemed to cause Victini a significant amount of agitation. He took a deep breath, ready to make a suitably cutting retort. "I-"

Mew almost instantly smacked Victini's back with his tail. "You know, there was a time when I truly believed you to be an upstanding, normal person." Mew ranted. "But if you're gonna continue to argue with some teenager instead of _just _introducing them like you should be doing, then I don't mind taking my leave!"

Victini huffed, and resentfully stated, "...And the next two competitors we have today are Lily and Pearla."

As Lily (Gardevoir) stepped down the ramp leading to the docks, she watched Victini with careful eyes, expecting the worst.

The duo came to a halt as soon as they neared the hosts. Pearla had been look down at the ground dejectedly this whole time, and when she stopped in front of Victini, she slinked back a bit, hoping to really sell her act.

"Mmm... Alright, you got your turn! Time to go!" Victini proclaimed, warping them away on the spot.

Mew could only sigh at Victini's childish actions.

Victini, passing off Mew's sigh as a sign of hate, announced, "The next competitors are...Paige and Bryson!" His tone was, once again, full of energy now that Lily and Pearla's introductions were over.

To follow up Victini's announcement, a Barbaracle ran off the boat, waving to the camera. "Hello, hello!" he exclaimed.

He was too caught up in all of the attention to notice the Maractus who had also exited the boat. He nearly trampled her!

"Hi, hello, so glad to be here!" Bryson (Barbaracle) greeted. He grabbed Victini's hand with a strong grip and shook it. "Thank you for picking me! I signed up for like a thousand shows, but this was the only one that accepted me!" he chortled.

Victini forcibly pulled his hand away. "Ow, ow, owwww!" he yelped. He quickly turned away to hide his face of agony. "Uhh... You're welcome, Bryson." he said, rubbing his hand.

The Maractus from before made her way up to the three. "That was violent." Paige (Maractus) said. Despite how loudly Paige announced that statement, everyone completely ignored her.

Suddenly, Bryson began to curiously look around in all directions. "Wait...where's Paige?" he questioned.

"Uhh... Right here!" Paige exclaimed.

For a moment, she presumed Bryson asked that question because she was too short to end up in his peripheral vision, but after another moment of silence from the Barbaracle, he said, "...I guess she didn't show up..."

"Excuse me?!" Paige yelled. "We're dating now, and this is how you treat me?"

"Paige, c-calm down." Bryson was quick to answer. "I was just joking."

"Oh, god!" A bad premonition began creeping over Paige, but before she continue complaining, Victini quickly teleported the both of them to the cafeteria.

"Okay, okay, okay..." Victini warily groaned. "There are seven more competitors left, so to speed things up we're doing four of them at once, then the last three!" Victini said, glancing to Mew in the corner of his eye.

Mew firmly nodded.

"Alright, the next _four_ contestants are Travis, Loki, April, and Esther!" Victini said.

Four more Pokémon made their departure from the boat. A Trevenant, a Chesnaught, a Corsola, and a shiny Drifloon. While Loki (Chesnaught), April (Corsola), and Esther (Drifloon) exited the boat normally, Travis (Trevenant) leaped from the edge, completely passing the ramp.

He perfectly landed onto docks, causing the whole thing to shake for a few seconds. After the mini-earthquake subsided, he continued on his path to the hosts.

As soon as Travis reached the hosts, he struck a gallant pose. "Travis the Titan here! Pleasure to meetcha!" he chirped.

"Ooooh..." Loki said. "That's where I recognize your voice from!" he drawled. Loki had a distinct sensation that he knew who that Trevenant was, but had kept quiet until he actually said his name.

"Huh? Are you like, a celebrity or something?" Esther queried.

"A celebrity? Nah, I'm not super popular or anything. I just do podcasts on the radio for people to listen to." Travis explained. "And so far this Chesnaught here is the only one who's recognized me - so yeah, not very popular."

April, who broke off from the group of contestants, was chatting with the hosts. "Greetings, pleased to make your acquaintances." she greeted.

Mew placed a hand on his 'ear'. "Ooh, is that an English accent I hear?"

April nodded. "My family and I come from the Galar region. We'll be here in Unova for some time, though, due to my father getting a job here."

"Aww, that sucks." Mew sympathized. He had no way to relate due to his one and only home being the Hall of Origin, but he still felt sorry, nonetheless.

For the next few moments, the two continued to exchange words. Victini watched on in bordem, before finally saying. "Are you guys done now? I'm ready to introduce the last three contestants."

Mew turned to address Victini and silently nodded.

"Great." Victini said. He snapped his fingers, once again warping the competitors out of the way. "With those four out of the way, it's time for the last three to come."

The final three to exit the boat were a Sobble, a Grookey, and a Scorbunny.

"Here we have Kyle, Emily, and Serenity." Victini announced. "The three starters from the Galar region!"

Serenity (Scorbunny) was the first one to reach the hosts. She jumped up and down, barely able to contain her excitement. "Omigosh, hi!" she cheered.

As Serenity continued chat up the hosts, Emily (Grookey) glared at her with no hesitation.

Kyle (Sobble), noticing this, asked, "What?" Kyle spoke in a low voice and held this permanent frown on his face. Well, more like a blank stare that could be passed off as a glare, but still, he looked unhappy.

Emily only slightly tilted her head to address Kyle, as if to keep the Scorbunny in her peripheral vision. "Her..." she forced out. Her eyes narrowed. "Ulggh... Why do Scorbunnies (or Scorbunnys) even exist?" she tantalized. "We already have enough bunny Pokémon, we don't need more!"

"What about the clad of monkey Pokémon, or the over sized group of electric rats? There's only th-three bunny Pokémon, now." Kyle countered, finding Emily's reasoning to be off.

Emily shook her head. "No matter what you say, I'll always hate Scorbunnies (or Scorbunnys)." she affirmed. "They're stupid."

Kyle gave Emily a quizzical look. "Pfff, _okay, _then!" he said. "Let's just go meet Mew and Victini, already."

Emily begrudgingly nodded.

Walking up to Serenity, Victini, and Mew, Victini said, "Glad you finally decided to join us. Serenity is getting really annoying." he publicized.

Serenity gasped. "Excuse you?!" she said.

Victini looked at his arm as if he had a watch and quickly said, "Oops! Times up, see ya soon!" He warped the three away, not wanting to hear Serenity to speak any longer.

At long last, the introductions were over. Victini let out an exasperated sigh as he watched the boat take off. "I think Serenity is my least favorite contestant BY FAR, excluding Cosmoem! Does she ever pause to breath! God!"

"I mean..." Mew started. "I guess she _was_ a bit talkative..." he agreed.

"You guess? You guess?!" Victini thundered. "Auggh, well, at least we can get on with the episode now..."

-000-

Moments after the the last three contestants were teleported into the cafeteria, murmurings could be heard from beyond the entrance. The double doors swung open, and in came Mew and Victini, and Mew took this as his chance to survey the area.

The cafeteria was large. Very large. It could most definitely accommodate more than fifty Pokémon. There were around ten tables in the room, each able to fit ten individuals, depending on their size.

000

Jordan placed her phone face-down on the table. She laughed: "Okay... Not gonna lie... A lot of the boys here are really cute!" She cast a glance to couple of the male contestants in the room.

Sitting at one of the tables were Jordan, April, and Travis, chattering amongst one another.

"Yeah... I...I could see that." April chimed in. "Like the camera men. They weren't that bad..."

"Did you see the Lycanroc? I can't... I CAN'T!"

Travis watched the two girls with worried eyes. "You girls realize you're still teens, right? You don't know how old that guy is." He held his arms together and rose a brow.

"So?" Jordan quipped. "We're still allowed to dream a little!"

Jordan and April laughed, unnerving the Trevenant.

Suddenly, Echo walked up to the edge of the table. She held up a solemn expression. "Hey, guys. Mind if I join?" she asked. "I'm Echo."

"Of course! The more the merrier, right?" April agreed. She swiftly scooted over making room for Echo.

Jordan used pointed to April. "That's April, and I'm Jordan."

Echo grinned as she plopped down in the seat. "Thanks." She placed her small bag on the table, resting her head on it. As she fumbled around with the contents to get comfortable, Echo let out a sigh.

"You okay there? You're zoning out a bit." April piped her concerns.

"Nothing." Echo dismissed. "Just getting a little homesick..."

Jordan's head tilted to the side. "Already? But you just got here!"

"I know, I know..." Echo looked down at the table. "But...knowing that I'll be here for at least a month..."

April let on a smile, attempting to cheer Echo up. "Then let's try to get your mind off of home. Do you find any of the boys here that peak your interest?"

Echo giggled."Hmmm... Maybe one person here..." she answered. "That Bulba-"

Without warning, Serenity ran up to the table, skidding to a stop. Her interest seemed to be placed on Echo, as she was staring intently at her. "Where did you get that hat?" she questioned. "It looks so cute!"

Echo had been wearing a sun hat with a ribbon wrapped around it. "Really? Thanks! I'm...not sure where it came from, though. My mom bought it for me."

Serenity proceeded to circle around the table to where Jordan and Travis were sitting. She squeezed herself into the seat between them, without even asking. This prompted Travis to move in the opposite direction, just to make room.

Serenity tittered, clasping her paws together. The other girls gave her odd looks, causing her to smile, as if she didn't just invade someone's personal space.

000

**[Brazier's POV]**

Holding my breath, I excitedly sat down at one of the tables. "Hey, guys!"

"Brazier!"

Phoenix rose from his seat to hug me. "Gosh, it's been so long since we've seen you!"

"Yeah, school's been so lonely without you!" Vontell agreed.

Seeing my friends after moving away three years ago... It just puts a smile on my face!

"Really? It hasn't even been that long. I feel refreshed."

My body froze in place. That voice...he came along too...? I turn my head to the source.

"Cameron." I said.

"Yup, that's my name." the Charmander sat on of the chairs, arms crossed.

He and I...didn't exactly end things well together. We got into an argument on my last day of school with him and it hasn't been the same since...

Cameron just feels like a whole new person. Even texting and calling him doesn't feel like it used to. Which is why I stopped after the first few times.

"I..." My brain struggles to form words, before getting cut off by Cameron.

"Hey...where's Winthrop? I would expect him to be here, too."

It's like he knew what I was gonna say before I got the chance to bring it up. I...guess he just doesn't want to talk about it in front of the others?

"Oh, Winthrop told he was gonna be busy for a few hours. Said he had business to take care of." Phoenix was quick answer Cameron.

Huh...out of all of my friends, I would expect Winthrop to actually be here.

"Hmph...are you sure about that? He doesn't seem so busy right now." Vontell pointed out a small, blue figure at one of the tables. "He seems to be chatting it up with a bunch of strangers."

Phoenix immediately got in Vontell's way with a nimble hop. "Well, whatever it is, it's probably very important!"

Cameron shrugged. "If you think so."

Grinning, Phoenix returned to his seat, but not before hugging the life out of me again. Shaking it off, I turn my attention to the Pikachu. "Phoenix, I can see you've evolved while I was gone."

"Yup! What do you think?" Phoenix stood on his chair, leaning towards me with anticipation. "I wanted to evolve way sooner, but there was no time."

"It's great!" I respond. "What an improvement."

"What?" Cameron spoke up, sending me small glare. "So you didn't like him as a Pichu?"

Really?

I shake my head. "Th-That's not what I-"

Phoenix cut me off. "Nah, it's alright. I didn't like my old body, anyway."

"...Is body really the right word to use?" questioned Vontell. "It's more like...form."

"Well, I didn't like my old form. I was...weak, wasn't I, Brazier?"

Why are you asking me? I don't know. "Uhh..." I shift my glance from Phoenix to my feet. "You were fine."

"You should evolve too! You won't be going anywhere stuck like that..."

Cameron snorted. "Evolving? Seriously? Brazier is _be-yond_ help."

Thanks for the encouragement... Wait, no! I can't just...brush this off! Something is seriously wrong here! Does Cameron really still hold a grudge on me after three years?! What did I do?!

My head turned to Cameron, giving him a stern gaze. "Hold on, Cameron. Are you mad at me or something?"

Cameron's eyes immediately widened, and he went from slouching to sitting up straight. He gave Vontell and Phoenix a glance, probably checking if they heard me.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. And frankly, I don't care."

Like hell you didn't!

Sarcastically, I respond, "Well, you're affectionate today."

...Ugh, he clearly isn't gonna hear me out when we're in public. I have to wait until I have him cornered.

As if he could read how awkward the situation was, Phoenix suddenly exclaims, jumping over the table and gripping my arm, "Hey, Brazier, I'm thirsty! How about we get a drink? Yeah? Yeah? Anything you're okay with, I'm fine too!"

He forcibly dragged me to the kitchen. The grip around my arm was so tight, I swear it was cutting blood circulation.

-000-

The doors to kitchen opened, and Phoenix dragged me through, making sure to lock the doors behind me.

The kitchen was dim, as the lights were turned off, and only light source was the window far back into the room. It felt depressing just being in there... "Phoenix, what is this really about? Do you...really want a drink?"

I tugged my arm back, which was still in Phoenix's grasp.

"Of course not! I wanna know what's been going on!"

"About what?"

"Please don't lie to me. It's obvious something's up between you and Cameron."

"...No, we're fine."

"It's was such a giant shift in your personality. You went from happy and cheery to irritated instantly."

"You... Is it really that noticeable?"

"Brazier, I've been your friend for the longest time. I KNOW when something's off."

"...Fine. I'll admit, something did happen. But it's-"

"Tell me."

Dammit.

I don't think he's going to stop trying. "...On the day I was scheduled to move, I kind of got into...a serious...argument with Cameron. And I guess after all this time, it's still stuck with him. Or...it might be something else entirely. I don't know anymore..."

"Have you tried apologizing? Even if you did nothing wrong?"

"Yes! I've tried apologizing for everything, yet all I'm replied with is...hostility! Well, whenever I try texting him at least"

"...Let me see."

Hesitantly, I pulled out my phone and hand it over to Phoenix, showing my messages to Cameron.

"Look," I pull away the phone. "You shouldn't get involved. This is about us; _our_ friendship."

"You guys are both my friends! I need to know what's going on."

I smiled, my face reddening a bit. "Thanks..." he said. "S-So...what are we gonna do? He won't listen to anything I have to say."

"First, let's let him calm down a bit."

I gave Phoenix a look. "He's had about _three years_ to calm down."

"Yeah, but he's been bottling everything up this whole time. He needs someone to talk to him. So for now, just...try to keep your distance from him while Vontell and I hang out with him."

"Hang out?"

"Yeah. If we just try to randomly bring in up next time we have a conversation, he's probably going to get mad."

I looked down. "Right..." I let out a sigh. "Is this really going to work?"

000

Kip looked around at everyone who'd gathered there, taking in their faces one at a time. Not only could he feel everyone's aura, but he could see them too. It was part of being a skilled shaman. Even if Lucarios and Riolus have always been able to do that before, it was difficult for other Pokémon to pull off.

The Kadabra sat at one of the tables with five other Pokémon.

"So, what are everyone's first impressions on the show so far?" queried Pax.

Tina tapped her chin. "Mew and Victini don't seem that awful. Yeah, Victini may be a bit cynical, but at least he's not psychotic."

"Yeah, I think this might actually turn out to be fun!" Lily agreed. "As long as those two aren't trying to actively kill us every challenge, we won't have anything to worry about."

Suddenly, Maxine plopped down in the seat next to Pax with a plate full of doughnuts. Almost instantly, the Yamper began shoveling the food into her mouth.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Drew.

"I found it...in the kitchen." Maxine replied through a muffled voice. "...There's tons of food in there."

Kip stood up, stroking his mustache. "...If that's the case, I guess I could treat myself to a sweet or two..."

Winthrop hopped up, eager to come with. "Ooh, I'll go, too!"

Walking away with Kip, Winthrop added. "I hope they have Poképuffs, those are my favorite!"

Watching them enter the kitchen, Sage muttered. "Very suspicious... Very suspicious indeed..."

Lily turned her head to him. "Um, what exactly?"

"That robe Kip wears... He's definitely hiding something. ...But what that thing is...I'm not sure."

Lily raised a brow. "And the fact that his eyes are literally glowing worry me."

"Those gloves... Is he planning to commit a crime?!" questioned Sage. "Whoa- wait. You're glowing, too!"

Sage was right. Lily was surrounded by a glowing white aura. "O-Oh, well this is..."

"It's probably because of how perfect she looks, right Max?" Pax elbowed the Yamper, barely catching her attention.

"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure."

"Pax," Tina started up. "That sounded kind of creepy..."

"Oh, sorry!" Pax apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

"D-Don't worry, it's fine!" Lily reassured. "I...kind of get that a lot..."

Once again, the kitchen doors opened with Kip and Winthrop walking out. While Winthrop carried a small bowl of Poképuffs sticking out of ice cream, Kip was munching on a single cookie, enjoying it thoroughly.

The duo returned to the table.

"Good news!" Winthrop announced. "They have like...every sweet imaginable!" Smiling, he turned to Kip. "Wanna try?"

"I guess a little bit wouldn't hurt."

Smiling, Winthrop took a clean plastic spoon, taking a bit of ice cream, and fed it to Kip.

"H-mmm... It tastes good." Kip said.

Interrupting their moment, somebody said in a voice full of glee, "Attention, everyone!" It was Victini.

He put a finger up. "All of you are here now, so it's time to explain the game's rules! There's a lot to take in, so make sure you guys pay _close _attention..." he advised, narrowing his eyes.

"Do you really have to?" Esther asked in a hostile voice. "I'm pretty sure we've all seen these type of shows before. I doubt that the rules are any different." She lowered her eyes, avoiding contact.

Victini let out a cackle. "...And that's one demerit!" he laughed, proudly placing his hands on his hips.

Esther's irked expression slowly fell. "What did you just say?"

"It's just one of the gimmicks of this game... Fifteen demerits and you're outta here! I'll explain more later..."

Esther silently frowned listening to Victini's explanation. But at the same time, however, she felt relieved. She anticipated something much more serious.

Satisfied with Esther's silence, Victini continued, smirking smugly. "Onto the rules!" He turned to his friend, letting up a little. "Mew, if you will?"

Mew nervously coughed, being out of the loop for a minute and getting caught of guard. "Hm? Oh... Right." He redirected his attention to the contestants. "Okay, so most of the rules are the same. The fifty-five- I MEAN fifty-four of you get filtered into teams, you compete in challenges, and the losing team kicks off a member of their team. That stuff's the same, but of course, Victini's added some certain rule that...I'm not aware of at the moment. So please Victini, enlighten us."

Victini face palmed. "Of course you don't know. You never pay attention." he bemoaned. Shaking his head, he expounded. "Firstly, let's talk demerits. As you all heard, Esther's already earned herself a demerit for talking back to me. Though, that was just a one time thing. So I probably won't give you guys demerits for giving your opinions. _But_, you can earn more for doing other things, like cheating at challenges and breaking their rules. Stuff like that."

"And if we get fifteen demerits, we'll be eliminated?" Satoshi meekly asked.

Victini nodded. "Exactly. I'm not gonna randomly eliminate you for no reason. Especially if it's out of spite." he confirmed. "Now, moving onto items..." He reached behind his back and produced a white ticket with red tips. The center of the ticket was decorated with a small star.

He held the ticket up in the air, making sure everyone was able to see. "This is an Immunity Ticket. It's one of the many items stashed around the island." he explained. "As you could probably guess from the name, it keeps you completely safe from elimination. Completely makes all of your votes null and void, so make sure you watch out for these."

With the snap of his fingers, the ticket was gone. "Immunity Tickets can be found hidden underground, in buildings, caves, basically anywhere around the island."

Victini sighed looking off to his side. "There's nothing else for me to say about the rules, so let's move onto where the fifty-four of you will be sleeping. Everyone, follow me!"

He began floating to the entrance before stopping himself. "Oh yeah - there's also confessionals, because what kind of reality show would this be if we didn't have one? It's right next to this building, so you shouldn't miss it!"

**000**

**Ann was looking around the small room, trying making herself comfortable on the mini-sofa. In the end, her efforts were fruitless, as the sofa was stiff and unwelcoming. "Guessing they blew their whole budget on that mansion..." She then cocked her head to the side. "...Or the mansion could be low quality too, and they just wanted to save as much money as possible."**

**000**

**With his tongue casually stuck out, Leonardo looked into the camera. "It looks like this season's cast is very split. Half the Pokémon here seem normal, while the others are uninviting." He shifted his weight on the chair to better address the camera. "I'm stuck on what I should do... I wanna start making friends with others, but everyone's already split off into their own groups. If I tried to randomly join one of them...I'd just feel like I would be intruding. I guess I could start with the Hydreigon. He's the only person I've talked to other than Cameron."**

**000**

**Brazier had a cheerful look on his face. "I'm so happy right now! It actually seems like the hosts aren't trying to neglect and abuse us!"** **He grinned. "Imagine if Darkrai was hosting this or something. Or...Or even Yvetal!"**

**000**

The cameras panned onto a group of Pokémon standing right outside of a mansion. It certainly didn't fit with it's environment to say the least.

"Wow!" Maxine exclaimed. "I was expecting to be shoved in some crummy cabins, but if we're gonna be staying in a mansion, then I think everything'll be hunky-dory!"

Arlo stared at Maxine in a condescending manner from the corner of his eye. "Please stop talking." he commanded.

"Calm down, calm down!" Victini called out, smirking. "Before you get _too _excited, I must say: all of you will be having roommates."

Victini's smile grew even larger seeing faces fall.

In a monotonous voice with a stone-cold expression, Vanessa said, "No, Victini. Don't do this to us. We love you."

"Ugh, seriously?" Charlotte groaned. "Will we be able to at least _pick_ our roommates? I don't wanna be stuck with some psycho."

Victini shook his head. "No, no! No picking roommates. I've already set up everyone's bedrooms, so it's a bit too late for that. Since we're here already, why don't I tell you you're going to be with?"

Victini began to list off names, prompting Phoenix spun around.

"Hey, Bra-zier! " Phoenix chirped.

Brazier slightly tilted his head up from the ground to address Phoenix. "...?"

Phoenix was ecstatic, and had small bolts of electricity emanating from his cheeks. "I hope we end up being roommates! I made this whole list of ideas on things we could do together, like watch movies, or YouTube videos, or-... Well, you get the idea."

"Phoenix... As much as I'd love to spend time with you - we're on a reality show. It would be much more beneficial if we explored the island a little and got to know everyone here. We can't expect to win when we're cooped up in a room doing nothing all day. Besides, aren't you supposed to be...doing something?" He gave Cameron a quick glance.

Phoenix frowned. "Ohh, relax, B. The show's only just begun! Don't get so worked up over nothing."

Seemingly appearing from nowhere, Cosmoem spoke up. His presence seemed to completely change the mood. "Your friend is right, you know." he told Phoenix. His old mood was gone, replaced with an...impatient attitude. He turned to Brazier. "I couldn't help but overhear your need for an ally. I can help you."

Brazier smiled nervously. "Umm... Well, I didn't exactly say I needed an ally, I just said we needed to get to know every-"

"You're friends with Winthrop, yes?" Cosmoem interrupted.

Brazier slowly nodded. "...Yes?"

"Good." Cosmoem quickly responded. "If you ever need help, you know who to talk to." And with that, he floated away, off into the crowd.

Brazier longingly stared at the direction Cosmoem had left in, despite his figure being completely swallowed up by the crowd. He frowned, unable to get Cosmoem's final words out of his head. "...What does he want with Winthrop?"

Phoenix shrugged.

"(I should keep an eye on him...)" Brazier thought.

"Eh-hem!"

"Huh?!" Brazier fumbled around before regaining focus and turning around to the source of the voice.

Victini was staring directly at Brazier. "Those are your assigned rooms, and I will _not_ be saying them again."

Brazier held his 'hand' out. "Ah-!"

"Buuuut if you weren't listening like some _certain _people here, every single 'dorm' room has a nameplate bearing the names of its occupants. So don't ask me!"

Brazier gulped, nodding.

"Good, good!" Victini's glare quickly faded. "Moving on from your doom rooms, we're almost ready to start the challenge." he announced. "Starting now, I'm giving you an hour to unpack and settle down. You're allowed to freely explore the island with minimal restrictions, socializing with whoever you want. Once your hour is over, and the clock strikes twelve I better see you all back at the beach near the docks to start our first challenge, ya hear me?! Anybody who keeps the rest of us waiting will get a penalty..."

Jordan quickly turned on her phone, checking the time. "(Ten: fifty-eight...)"

Victini smiled. "Oooookay, there's nothing left for me to say. So, Mew and I are just gonna go... Bye!" He waved his arms wildly, having no intentions to stay any longer, and then teleported away, taking Mew with him.

-000-

Being all the way in the front, Holt proudly led the group into the mansion. He burst open the the doors, allowing everyone to fill the main hallway.

Yelling, he stomped forward. "Let's get this over with! I wanna start the first challenge already - see who my team is - whip them into shape."

Blinking, Arlo pivoted away. "Surely you're not- do you honestly think people would listen to you with that kind of attitude? God, you're impossible..."

"Do you _know _who I am?!" Holt questioned in a dramatic voice.

"Yes, Holt. I know exactly who you are." Arlo crossed his arms. "You're the coach for the Sinnoh Hitters. Honestly, I have no idea why you're here since you should BE DOING YOUR JOB, but I wouldn't be surprised if they had to let you go. You are still a teenager after all."

"Fuck you! I'm great at my job!" Holt bellowed.

"Keep telling yourself that. Maybe one day, you'll actually believe it."

"Don't tell _me _how to feel!"

Diancie burst out into laughter. "Kyahahaha! If I had to guess, I'd say this whole entire episode up till this point has just been us fighting!"

"Yeah," Ann spoke up. "You two need to tone it down. I feel like I'm already getting a headache."

Arlo smiled, closing his eyes. "Sure. We can do that. **Right**, Holt?"

"Fuck no! Let's fight! I can take you!" Holt gave Arlo a spiteful glare.

"I know. You probably have a lot of experience dealing with rebel teenagers, and could take me down easily." Arlo agreed. "I can at least admit that. But you..."

Holt huffed, unhappy. "Pfft, weak..." he muttered. He pointed his wing in Arlo's face. "I bet you don't even work out!"

Arlo laughed. "Man, you're funny when you're angry."

Holt narrowed his eyes. "..._What_?"

Arlo took a step back, still smirking. He lifted his shoulders up. "I'm trying to embarrass you." he said in a malapert tone.

Holt was very close to wrapping his wings around Arlo's neck and strangling him, but he restrained himself. "You think this is funny?!"

Arlo nodded. "Very."

Holt turned his back on him, groaning, "Oh, you insult me, everyone laughs, the whole bit, _yeah_!"

"Yeah... No. This isn't funny. You guys are both just idiots." Mist said.

Paige shook her head. "Yeah, like insulting them is gonna make them stop."

"God, I don't need to hear anymore of this!" Holt complained, stomping away, off to find his room.

Vontell put a hand over his mouth, whispering to closest person to him. Pearla. "Tou-_chy!_"

Pearla nodded, a worried look on her face. "Definitely."

000

Eventually, the somewhat tense mood that the hallway managed to gather washed away as soon as everyone dispersed. Being one of the last to leave, Kyle began to search for his room. He wasted enough time just watching Arlo and Holt fight.

His main focus was set on finding his bed and unpacking. It may not have looked like it, but he was actually very nervous. As the Sobble strolled down the hall, he glanced at the first two doors he passed in the hallway. The bathrooms. The left wall held the boys bathroom and the right held the girls.

Stepping back, he turned left. Moving forward, Kyle saw that the hall wasn't as empty as he thought. Standing in front of one of the doors was Drew. His eyes seemed to light up when he saw Kyle.

"Hey! Hey, Kyle!" He seemed to be in a hurry. He held his wings in front of him in an energetic manner. "Have you seen how cool this place is?!"

Kyle shook my head. "No, sorry. I stayed back and watch those two fight. Already regretting it, though..."

"Oh, I left as soon as I could, but anyway... The rooms in this place are, like, crazy huge! And they have a sauna, a gaming room, and so many cool things here!" Drew rambled.

"Was I really that long?" Kyle asked. "That seems way too quick for you to unpack everything and immediately begin searching the place."

Drew struck a heroic pose and puffed his chest out. "Hey, I'm nimble on my wings."

"...Hey, since you've supposedly seen most of the mansion already, do you mind telling me where my room is?"

Drew nodded happily. "If I remember correctly," he extended his wing to the end of the hallway. "It's alllllll the way back there - last room." he affirmed.

Kyle nodded understandingly. "Thanks, Drew. You just saved me a lot of trouble."

Drew smiled. "Don't mention it!"

Moving along, Kyle gazed at all of the doors he passed until his got to my room. Before he realized it, he was at the end of the hall. He looked up to the nameplates on the wall, and sure enough, it was his room. Just as he was about to attempt to open the door, someone else opened it from the other side.

Pax peaked out. "Oh, hey! I thought I heard someone out here! You must be Kyle."

Kyle nodded, only saying. "Mhm." He walked, luggage in his grip.

"I already took the bed on the left. You can have the other one." said Pax.

"Alright."

Kyle tossed his small suitcase to the side of his bed, and due to his size, it only rose about a foot into the air before falling back to the ground and sliding the rest of the way.

Satisfied with the result, he threw himself onto the bed, realizing he was much more tired than he expected. As he made himself comfortable on the bed, his eyes fell on Pax walking over to the door.

"(Please don't fucking talk to m-)"

"Hey..." started Pax. "I was planning on scoping out the place a little. Wanna come along?"

"(OH MY FUCKING GOD.)"

Despite how quiet Kyle had been up until now, Pax still wanted to speak with him. Kyle lifted my head from my pillow, letting out a silent groan. "Hmm..." He was already comfortable in bed, and didn't want to get out. "Kinda sleepy right now, but...I guess I can join."

"(Why...DID I SAY THAT?! I DON'T WANNA COME ALONG! I CAN'T SO 'NO' NOW! HE'S GONNA THINK I'M WEIRD!)"

"Great!"

-000-

Standing in the elevator, Pax asked, "Huh? There are only two floors? I swear I saw more when we were standing outside."

Kyle yawned. "Maybe they just don't go up any higher, and there'll be stairs leading up to the third floor."

Pax shrugged, clicking the second floor button. Silently, the elevator quickly rose up one floor, and the two stepped out.

Gazing around, Pax said, "Man, this place is really big..." He moved towards the nearest door, beckoning Kyle to follow him. As Kyle neared, Pax energetically swung the door open, with Kyle following close behind.

A row of treadmills could be seen as soon as the two walked in. There were racks of dumbbells on the sides of the rooms, with mats laid out in various spots. The cold, concrete floor mirrored little light from the large windows in room.

"It's a Workout Room." Pax mumbled.

"Ew." Kyle put on a disgusted look. "I hate exercise."

Running on one of the treadmills was a visibly sweaty Chesnaught.

"Hey, someone's here. Should we say hi?" Pax asked.

Kyle simply shrugged.

Pax put a 'hand' on his hip. "You're not much of a talker, are you?"

Kyld smiled nervously, placing a 'finger' on his face. "N-Not really... Not around strangers at least."

He smiled confidently, pointing to himself. "Well, don't worry. I can change that! Here - watch and learn!" Pax walked up to Loki, with Kyle standing not too far away.

"Hello."

Loki slightly turned his head before pressing the power button, turning off the treadmill.

"Oh, hey!"

Pax gave him a smile. "Sorry if I'm disturbing you."

Loki smiled. "No, no. It's okay! I'm fine. Pax, right? What's up?" He wiped sweat off of his brow.

Pax nodded. "I decided to go ahead and check this place out before we start our first challenge. Oh, and I brought my friend with me." He pointed back to Kyle, who was awkwardly watching them talk from a distance.

Loki stepped off the treadmill and walked over to him. "Hey, buddy. I'm Loki."

"Hi..."

Following Kyle's greeting was a deafening silence. An awkward one at that.

"A-Anyway, what brings you guys to the show?"

Pax gave a simple answer. "I just waned to use the wish for money. Buy whatever I want."

"I came for the money too, but in all honesty, I really doubt that I'll win."

Loki began gathering his belongings. "I'm sure you'll do great! So don't give up before the competition's even started!" Stretching his back, he said, "Anyway, I'm going back to my room now. I just wanted to get a little exercise in before the first challenge. See ya!" he waved Kyle and Pax off.

Smiling as Loki left, Pax said, "This has turned into such a pleasant morning!" and he began to head out. "Well, I guess it's time to check the next room."

-000-

Standing in the next room, Pax scanned the area. "This looks like a Rec Room." he surmised.

The room had a vending machine, a pool table, a rack of magazines, and other things to keep people entertained. And just like the last room we checked, there was already someone in there. Two people, actually.

"Aaaand it would seem my time is ruined..." Diancie said. She was sitting on the sofa, holding playing cards, with Mack standing atop the table in front of her.

He gave the duo a nervous sideways glance, as if he was asking for help.

Pax held his arms together, nervous. "Uhh, hello." He attempted to start small talk.

"Look," Diancie said. "I don't have _time_ for an autograph! I'm playing with my slave here!"

Pax pushed his hands down in a dismissive motion. "No, I don't want an autograph! I just wanna introduce myself."

"What are are ya talking about? Everyone wants an autograph from de one and only: Diancie."

Pax scratched his tongue. "Have you ever had a _normal_ conversation with _normal_ people?"

"(Probably not.)" Kyle thought.

Diancie looked away from Pax and focused her eyes back on her cards. "Diancie doesn't talk to normies." And like that, she continued playing her game with Mack. She put on sunglasses after _speaking_ with Pax, like she was some newfound woman or something.

"Seriously, girl? You got that from the discount rack at KHOL'S!" Kyle blurted out, laughing.

Diancie turned to Kyle. "I can see you have no sense of style whatsoever sense you can't even bother to wear clothes.

Pax turned around to Kyle, pulling him towards the exit. "UH-...I think they're busy right now... We should leave...!"

-000-

As we shuffled outside, Pax gave Kyle a nervous laugh. "Well, I wasn't expecting you to start arguing with her!"

Kyle shrugged. "...Oops? I don't really care. I'm just concerned about Mack's well-being."

"...Who's Mack?"

"Oh, uh, the Carbink. Don-...Don't ask how I know his name."

From that moment onward, the two continued investigating the second floor, introducing themselves to multiple Pokémon on the way.

In the end, they went back to their room to wait out the rest of the time until the challenge started.

000

Back in the Hall of Origin...

"God, this is going so well!" Victini was engrossed on the large television in front of him, admiring his work. On screen, a Yamper could be seen diving into the ocean from the beach.

Mew and Victini were in the Hall of Origin's living room, watching their own show live.

"I'm honestly shocked no one else is here." Mew looked around the room, scanning the area. "Especially with the new legendaries that were introduced to us recently. Usually Cresselia and Darkrai are having their movie marathon here..."

"Are you talking about Zacian and Zamazenta? I hate it when the Hall of Origin gets a renovation! I understand that the building needs to be able to fit new Pokémon, but all the noise and problems it creates during the renovation is super annoying!"

Mew shrugged. "I don't mind. Let's just hope Zacian and Zamazenta don't end up absolutely hating you."

"Don't remind me..." Victini looked away with a sullen expression.

"Hey, just don't pull anymore stupid stunts and you'll be fine."

"Sure, whatever, let's just keep watching." Victini insisted, waving his hand dismissively.

000

On the beach, Maxine, Ann, and Satoshi were hanging out. Max's plan was to simply have some fun with her roommate, Ann. But sense Satoshi was around, Max ended up physically dragging him along.

"W-Why did you force me to come here?" Satoshi stuttered, staring at Max.

"To have some fun, little man!" With a running start, Max dived into the ocean again, splashing Ann in the process.

Ann complained, laying on her back. "And there's also nothing _better _to do."

"But, don't we have to be back by the docks before-?"

"Chill, dude! We've got time to kill! We can move over to the docks once it's time." Max soothed, shaking water off.

"Oh...kay..." Satoshi accepted defeat, sighing. "I guess...I'll make a sandcastle or something."

"That's the spirit!" Max gushed. "I wanna help! Ann, you too! You can supply us with water sense we don't have any buckets."

Ann began hopping over to Satoshi, her voice lacking everything but sarcasm. "Sure, what else am I good for?"

000

Grover sat on his bed, writing in a journal. The journal mostly acted as a diary, only used to record his outlook on certain things. Today in specific, however, he was strategizing; writing down the names of each contestant, underlining the ones he would deem a threat/underdog.

Travis, who was also sitting on his own bed, was passing him glances from the corner of his eye, pretending to watch the T.V. mounted to the wall.

Grover rolled his eyes. Travis was being painfully obvious. The next time Travis looked at Grover, Grover dropped his pen and turned to the Trevenant. "Is there something you want to say to me, 'cause it really looks like you want to?"

Travis felt a pit in his stomach. Ever since he got here, he had been met with complete and utter rudeness from Grover. He turned away, at a loss. He kept silent, still feeling the weight of that morning's quarrel on his shoulders.

Grover was the same Snubble who called Travis out for simply speaking.

As Grover waited for an answer, a sudden tune rang out.

***Ding dong, bing bong***

Victini's voice echoed out from the speakers placed outside the mansion. **"Mornin', competitors! This is an announcement. There are ten minutes left. I repeat there are ten minutes left before you all gather back at the beach. I would start heading there if I were you..."**

Grover growled. "Dammit." He dropped his black pen on his bed and began to head out the door.

After making sure he was gone, Travis walked over to Grover's bed and checked his journal, curious of its contents.

"(What's this supposed to mean?)" he asked himself. Just before Travis left to go the beach, he took a moment to admire how neat Grover's writing was.

000

Lance crept out of his room. His eyes darted across the hallway, searching for any signs of life. To his pleasure, no one was around. He presumed everyone had already left for the beach. If he had counted correctly, there were only three minutes left remaining. If he wanted to make it to the cafeteria on time, he had to be quick and nimble.

As he floated towards the entrance, the doors clicked open.

"Yeah, I'll be quick! I just forgot to grab my phone!"

Lance quickly backpedaled into his room, peaking out ever so slightly. He watched as Pax walked over to the bedroom nearest to the entrance - Serenity's room - and take out its nameplate. He carried the nameplate over to another room. Lance couldn't make out the names due to them being further away.

Pax took Serenity's nameplate and swapped it out with somebody else's before returning to Serenity's room and placing the wrong nameplate in the holder.

"Khehehe... Perfect..." Pax murmured.

As Pax exited the building, Lance slowly floated out of his room with a puzzled look. Just as he was about to check the new nameplate on Serenity's room, he heard the elevator doors open.

"If you don't hurry up, I will literally fucking slap you."

Lance jumped before frantically floating to the entrance, taking his leave.

000

Sage happily skipped onto the beach, just after Victini's announcement. There were a few others around the area that arrived before him, presumably before the announcement.

He held a 3DS in his hands, ready to play on it. Just as he was about to take a seat, he noticed something different about the beach. It was divided into four large squares, each square being separated by a white line.

The Elekid walked up to the nearest Pokémon, asking a question. "What's going on?"

"As of now, I'm unsure." Marshall stated, 'arms' crossed. "It probably has something to do with the challenge."

Shrugging, Sage walked over and took the seat on the docks. After that, everyone started strolling over, one after another. And eventually...

Victini and Mew teleported onto the scene. "Greetings, everyo-!" Victini's face quickly fell. "There's still people who haven't arrived..."

Gazing off into the crowd, Winthrop could easily pick out who was missing. He hadn't learned everyone's names yet, but he did manage to make a mental note of all of the species.

Just like when they first arrived in the cafeteria, Winthrop sat next to Kip on the beach. They were already very close friends and connected almost instantly.

Recalling the events from this morning, Kip still had a few questions he needed to ask Winthrop.

"Say, Winthrop... What was with that suitcase you brought earlier? Not only was it an inconvenient shape, but it was the only luggage you brought."

"Oh, that?" Winthrop smiled, rubbed the back of his head. "Well, it's actually quite the opposite of inconvenient. You see I like to...invent things. I just really enjoy building new mechanisms."

Kip nodded, completely absorbed in the Winthrop's voice.

"And that suitcase you saw is one of my inventions." Winthrop continued.

"Really? What does it do?"

"It's kind of complicated to explain the science behind it, but basically, the suitcase can carry tenfold more than it looks on that outside. So...I could carry a cannon around here if I wanted to! And it's completely weightless on top of all of that!""

"Really? That's so cool! You're like the ultimate inventor or something." Kip complimented.

The two continued talking until the final contestants arrived. It seemed like they didn't even really care whether there was a penalty or not.

Grayson, Xavier, Rita, Cosmoem, Diancie, Mack, Arlo, Viola, Zevulun, Vanessa, and Serenity slowly arrived onto the beach.

The contestants who _did _arrive early gave them slightly annoyed stares.

"Hey! Hey! Where the hell were you guys?! You kept us all waiting!" Grover confronted the late contestants, though he mostly directed it to Viola, due to her being the last to walk over.

Viola held a calm expression. "...My affairs are none of your concern..."

Grover froze in place. Her voice was cold, and it sent a chill down his spine.

Victini sighed happily. "Hahh... Teen drama..." He shifted his attention to the rest of the contestants. "But for now, we should focus on the first challenge now. Ooh, I can't wait! Everyone, please stand around the four squares."

Following Victini's instructions, the competitors stood around the perimeter.

"Okay, we'll start by giving you guys your teams. If I call out your name, step in the first square." Victini said. "Marshall, Kyle, Emily, Serenity, Grayson, Lily, Pax, Ann, Phoenix, Brazier, Cosmoem, Robin, Bryson, and Calvin. You will be...the Blue Team!"

"Really?" questioned Grayson. "The _Blue Team_? That's very lackluster."

"Shut up! Team names aren't important!" He crossed his arms, glaring at Grayson.

"No! Let me decide! I'm pretty sure I could come up with way better names!"

Victini let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine. Be quick."

Smiling proudly, Grayson turned to his new teammates. "Don't worry, losers! I got the perfect name. The Industrial Insect-!"

"The Slummers!" Phoenix roared, going over Grayson's voice.

"Wha-?!"

"The Slummers it is!" Victini repeated, pumping a fist up.

Grayson glared at Victini. "No-!"

"Alright, if I call out your name, please step in the second square." Victini instructed. "Holt, Mist, Arlo, Zevulun, Tina, Leonardo, Xavier, Cameron, Vontell, Loek, Mack, Diancie, Nova, and Viola."

He put his hands behind his back, smiling. "You guys _were_ going to be the Black Team, but I'll let you decide."

Holt puffed his chest out, completely ignoring his other teammates. "Sense I'm team captain-"

"Uh, no you are not. D-...Don't just-" Mist cut in, trying to stop Holt.

"-I officially declare us The W's!" he said proudly.

Mist sweat dropped, pausing. "T-The W's? What does that stand f-"

"Well, I'm glad you asked, Misty!" Holt smiled.

"It's Mist-"

"It's stands for both the Winners AND Holt's."

"..." Mist blinked. "...HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SEN-

"Great name, great name!" Victini cheered.

"STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" Mist yelled.

Victini stared at Mist for a few seconds before continuing. "MOVING ON, may the following please step in the third square. Maxine, Jared, Drew, Grover, Bubble, Winthrop, Gemmi, Zero, Rita, Kip, Lance, Berri, and Satoshi. You guys were going to be the Pink Team."

As the named contestants began to move, Berri spoke up, smiling a little. "What do guys think we should name our team?"

Maxine put a paw to her chin, closing her eyes. "I think it should be something that really...stands out, but isn't obnoxious."

"And _please_, not anything stupid." Grover added.

Kip stroked his mustache, looking over to Winthrop. "Hmmm..." He tapped his cheek. "How about...The Overgrown Brambles?" he asked.

Grover gave him an odd look. "...Overgrown Brambles?"

Maxine gave Kip a reassuring look. "That...doesn't sound...errr...right. But...I guess it's okay. How did you come up with that?"

Kip shrugged. "I just..."

Grover stepped in front of Kip, talking to Maxine. "Look, it really doesn't matter. The name is fine." He turned to Victini, calling his name out.

"Yup, the Overgrown Brambles. Got it." He turned to the remaining competitors, still not in a square. "The rest of you: April, Jordan, Travis, Loki, Zenith, Echo, Esther, Octavia, Vanessa, Charlotte, Sage, Paige, Pearla, and Nemeia. Enter the fourth square. You were going to be the Orange Team."

As April hopped into the fourth square, she admired, "I'm liking how this team is looking!"

"You can kiss-up to us later!" Charlotte retorted. "What's our team name?"

Travis jumped up, shouting, "Smokin' Hot Firey Balls!"

Esther gave Travis a deadpan stare. "...No."

"What? That's a fine answer." Loki crossed his arms, raising a brow. "I like it."

"Well, of course you like it, you're just a big dumb oaf." Charlotte jabbed.

"I'm numb to that kind of insult."

"So, what's our name gonna be then?" Echo asked. "Apparently Travis' idea isn't going to work."

Loki glanced over Zenith, bumping him with his shoulder. "Any ideas?"

The Golisopod jumped in place, not expecting to get any attention, before speaking up. "...O-Oh, I have an idea."

The others looked at him with expectancy.

Quickly brushing off his random nervousness, he put back on a serious face. "The Heart of the Game doesn't sound too bad, does it?"

"Oooh, I like it!" Loki agreed. "We're the heart of the game!"

Zenith let on a small smile. "...Thanks..."

"Well, I'm not hearing any complaints!" Jordan said in an irritated tone.

Charlotte rose a finger. "Actually-"

"Quiet!" Jordan snarled. She was losing her temper quick hearing Charlotte's insults.

Victini clasped his hands together, getting floating to the center of the squares. "That settles it!" he announced. "You're all in your respective teams and have picked your own names, so we can finally start the challenge."

Jared raised a 'hand'. "Hold on. Why does my team have thirteen members but everyone else has fourteen?"

"Actually, our team only has thirteen members too." Ann corrected.

Victini shook his head. "No, Ann, your team has fourteen members. One of them is just missing."

"What about us?" questioned Jared, raising his 'hand' again.

"Oh yeah, you guys actually just start out with less people. I'm not adding anymore contestants."

"Aw..."

"BULL...SHIT!"

"Give us a member or I'll shank you."

"Nope! Stop whining, I'm not doing anything about it." Victini replied. "Okay, NOW let's start-"

Mew gave Victini a vexed glare. "You know, if you're not gonna have me do anything, then I can just leave."

"No! You...can come up with the next challenge!" Victini came up with an idea on the spot. "Even if you aren't actually doing anything, it's nice to at least have someone to talk to!"

"Ugh..."

"Can you get on with the show?!" Esther asked.

Victini coughed, covering his mouth. "Um, of course. Yes, your first challenge." He pointed to the four quadrants in the sand. "So for today, each team will be trying to build a glass sculpture! Hence why we're on the beach."

Emily folded her arms. "I don't think supplying us with _just _sand is going to cut it."

"Weird monkey girl is right." Vanessa agreed. "How are we supposed to sculpt anything when the glass is gonna be like, a million degrees?" Despite her speaking up, her tone made her sound completely disinterested.

"And what are we supposed to heat up the sand with?!" spat Arlo.

"Jeez, stop complaining!" shouted Victini. "The tools you need to heat up and sculpt the sand are next to you! Open your eyes!"

Drew looked around, only seeing his teammates. "Uh, where?"

Victini shook his head. "God, your dense."

"..._What_?"

"Never mind..." Victini turned away. "You'll have two hours to complete your sculptures. The team with the best one wins." he explained. "Mew and I will be judging the final products without bias from one to ten. Highest score wins." He teleported a television onto the scene, only showing a two hour clock on screen. "I'm leaving the timer up here for suspense. Your challenge starts...now!"

000

The W's formed a circle on Holt's orders.

"Alright, before we start sculpting, we need to figure out what we're gonna be making first!" Holt barked.

"I'm surprised you got that far into planning." Arlo commented.

"Shut it, dweeb!" hissed Holt

Arlo shrugged, insouciant.

"Well, what are we gonna make?" inquired Leonardo. "Victini said the vote wasn't going to be biased, so we can't make a statue of him or anything."

"Yeah, I don't think he's _that _egotistical." Vontell stated.

"I don't really think what we make matters if it's not biased. As long as it isn't horrible in quality, we should be fine." Arlo suggested, trying to be realistic.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agree with him." remarked Mist, giving Arlo the side-eye.

"It's not that far-fetched." Tina defended. "We just need to make something simple."

000

"We have two fire-types on our team." started Pax. "We can use them to make the glass."

"Yeah, but what'll we sculpt it with? We can't just make a block of glass and pass it off as a sculpture." Brazier picked up some sand with vines, letting it slowly fall out.

"We..." Pax trailed off, looking off to his side. "We can have Calvin shape it while Serenity blows fire onto it." His voice was full of uncertainty.

"Don't overestimate how far my typing can take me, lava and fire still hurt me, you know!" Calvin berated. "And going by your logic, you should have an even better job at shaping the sand."

"Right..." Pax put a 'hand' up to his chin. "Well, what _can_ we do? We need something or someone fire-repellent. Something like metal, or iron..."

"Those can both melt, nitwit!" Grayson glowered.

"Umm..." Phoenix hesitantly spoke up. "This might sound dumb - and...maybe it does- but glass is fire-retardant."

The others gave him judging looks.

"W-What?!"

000

The Overgrown Brambles had already begun with shaping the sand.

"It's cool that you teleported us these buckets, Kip!" Winthrop praised, filling a pink bucket with sand. Their idea was to make a large, grand sandcastle, and then burn it.

Kip nodded, kneeling on the ground. He was flattening a section of the it for the base of sandcastle.

"Hey, Winthrop! Could you give some water over here, my wall keeps falling over!" Maxine requested.

"Coming!" Winthrop shouted back. He turned to Kip, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll be quick."

Kip gave Winthrop another silent nod.

As he continued forming the base, he heard the sound of footfalls getting closer.

"Would you look at that? First couple of the season! How are you two faring?"

Kip glanced up from his work to see Rita giving him a malicious smile. He gave her a blank stare, not willing to entertain her for a second. "Whatever you're trying to accomplish, it won't work. Go finish your part of the castle or your first day here _will_ be your last."

"Oh, cute! Are you trying to scare me?" Rita threw her bucket into Kip's work. "Try explaining that to the others, they still think I'm as dumb as a rock!"

She walked off, a satisfied look on her face. Kip watched as she went on to talk to someone else.

What did this make him feel?

Apathetic.

Honestly, he was baffled that Rita would say that without thinking it was at least somewhat cringey.

He glanced around to check if anyone was watching. And once he sure no one was, he turned back to the bucket in the sand. His hands started glowing a light pink, and his foundation slowly reformed, with the bucket floating to the side, dropping to the ground.

As he finished, Winthrop came walking back over. "I'm baaack!" He glanced over to Kip. "Lookin' good!"

Kip let out a small snigger. "Thanks, you too."

Winthrop blushed a little, glancing away. "I-I meant the foundation! The foundation...looks good."

"So now you're saying I'm ugly?" Kip teased.

"That's...that's..." Winthrop threw his bucket onto the ground, puffing out his cheeks. "You know what I mean! Come over and help me with my side sense you're done!"

"Alright."

000

Over at The Heart of the Game, each member had been getting assigned a specific job by Jordan.

"Loki, Zenith, Travis, you three will dig up sand and mount it into one big pile. Vanessa and I will be helping with water, if needed, and the rest of you will be shaping the sand. Got it?"

A few people nodded.

"Good."

"Hold on." Charlotte spoke up, getting in front of Jordan. "Why do you get to assign us jobs?"

Jordan gave her a look. "Please don't tell me you're actually complaining about FORMING SAND?"

"Ugh, I _am_ not! I'm just asking!" Charlotte defended, stepping back.

Jordan smiled cheekily, putting a 'hand' on her 'chest'. "Well, I called the team captain role, _so_ I get it! That's just how things work around here."

Charlotte turned around, grumbling. "...Bitch."

"I heard that!"

000

Vontell and Cameron were both collecting water from ocean with pales they borrowed from Winthrop's team.

"So water you thinking of our team so far?" joked Vontell, smiling.

Seeing Cameron's bored expression, Vontell broke out in nervous laughter. "Haha...bad joke..."

"Yup." Cameron loosely carried the handle of his bucket, almost dropping it.

"W-Well...what _do_ you think of the team?"

Cameron bent down, filling the bucket with water. He inhaled sharply. "It's awful! Holt and Arlo keep on arguing! Do I have to say anything else?! They're almost as bad as Brazier."

Vontell paused, glancing over to Cameron. "Like Brazier? What do you mean? He is?"

The two began walking back to the group. "Oh don't even get me started with him! He-" As they were walking forward, Cameron got knocked back by a large black wing, causing him to spill his bucket all over himself. "Aaah! My tail!"

Holt let out a yell. He somehow got into another fight with Arlo.

"I'm saying we should attempt sculpting a ball of fire!" Arlo argued.

"And I'm saying we shouldn't!" Holt bickered. "How stupid are you?! Victini said he didn't give a crap about what we made, as long as it was good in quality! So making something as complex as fire would be a waste of time!"

"Which is exactly _why_ we should make it!"

"Oh, you can go to Hell!"

As Cameron watched them fight, his lower body soaked in water, he slammed his bucket onto the ground, effectively splashing Holt. "GODDAMMIT!"

He stomped away angrily, off the beach, and once Holt and Arlo realized what was happening, they went after him.

"Cameron!" They shouted simultaneously.

"Aw...jeez." moaned Vontell

-000-

Holt and Arlo followed Cameron into the forest.

"Cameron, come back here! We need you to heat up the sand!" shouted Arlo, brushing through bushes and branches.

Cameron snarled. "I was so happy when heard who I was gonna be on the show with me when I signed up for it with my friends! I thought I was gonna have a fun time!" he ranted. "Home's been awful! Here's been horrible! I thought the challenge was gonna be fun, but that's been garbage too!"

He sat down on a rock, avoiding eye contact. "When you guys argue... Do you ever consider how you're making other's feel? I just...thought for once things would work out in my favor, but now I can't even walk with a bucket of water without something go wrong!"

Holt didn't know how to feel. He looked over Cameron, at a loss of words. "C-Cameron, I'm sorry... That was my fault, I didn't mean to-"

"I know you didn't mean to!" Cameron put a hand on his forehead, letting our an exasperated sigh. "...Maybe I'm the one who's..."

Arlo looked from Holt, to Cameron, an unimpressed look plastered onto his face. "Right... Well, while you two talk out your...feeling_s_, I'll be back at the beach, actually _doing_ something useful!"

Holt gave him a frown, about to talk back when he remembered Cameron's whole speech. Instead of saying anything, he sighed, nodding to Arlo.

"Good," he affirmed. "Make it quick."

000

While The Slummers had begun making their sculpture, Grayson broke off from his team, going off to a secluded part of the square.

Pax, noticing this, followed him out of curiosity. Not before being berated by Victini of course.

"Can you stop hogging the goddamned screen?!" Victini scolded. "You're, like, the least interesting contestant!"

Pax chuckled, crossing his arms. "The camera men don't think so."

Victini groaned, floating back over to Mew. Letting out another laugh, Pax walked over to Grayson, watching as he tried to build something. Due to his lack of limbs, however, it ended up just being a pile of sand.

Pax kneeled down, looking over Grayson's creation. "What are you making?"

"Nothing." he bitterly growled, slamming his body into the sand.

"I can help." Pax offered. "It doesn't look bad, it's a nice start!"

Grayson gave him a look. "...Do you really think that...praising me, being nice to me...even though what you're saying isn't true...that it's supposed to make me realize something?"

Pax stood back up. "U-Uh... I..."

"Stop trying to get me to like you and go away!"

Pax sighed, crossing his arms. "Jeez..."

000

Grover slowly lifted a bucket of sand upside down onto Kip's foundation. Just as he finished getting all of the sand out, he heard a yell.

"Hey!"

"Aaah!" He jumped, almost dropping the bucket.

"What are you doing?" interrogated Zero. The Salandit gave Grover a suspicious look.

Grover gave the Salandit a dumbfounded stare. "...My JOB!"

Zero took the bucket from Grover's hand. "No, no, no! You're doing it all wrong!" He knocked down Grover's small 'tower', filling the bucket up with more sand.

"Why did you do that?!" fumed Grover.

"I told you: it was wrong. Just let me do this, you can collect water or something."

Grover gave Zero a sharp glare, shaking, and proceeded to slap the bucket out of Zero's hand before stomping away.

Zero huffed. "Rude."

**000**

**Grover face palmed. "They could have found so many other people to join the show..."**

**000**

Echo glanced over to the clock for the first time since the challenge had started.

"Oh my tree, thirty-one minutes left?!" Echo blurted, looking around the area frantically.

Echo rushed over to Jordan, putting her sculpting on hold. "Jordan!"

In a passive-aggressive tone, Jordan asked, "What is it?"

"We only have thirty minutes lefts!"

Jordan looked away. "Crap, we haven't even finished shaping the sand yet."

"What do we do?!"

"You're putting way too much faith into Jordan." maintained Charlotte, kicking a bucket over.

Jordan scowled, getting up in Charlotte's face. "I'd like to see you do better." she resented.

Charlotte stifled a laughed . "_Alright_," she cooed. "Next challenge, _I'm _team captain. We'll see which captain the team likes better." She turned her back, beginning to walk away. "Winner gets to be leader up until the merge, loser gets humiliated...maybe even eliminated."

Jordan wasted no time agreeing. "Deal!"

"Good luck..." Charlotte intoned, leaving an ominous feeling in the air.

Echo stared as Charlotte left. "Whoa..." She turned to Jordan, who had a weird look on her face. "What are you gonna do?"

"Lose."

Echo blinked, inhaling. "Wait-"

000

Cameron and Holt combed through the grass, making it back onto the beach.

Cameron stopped in place, turning to Holt. "So you promise to stop the arguing? At least for this challenge?"

"I'm...sorry." he sheepishly mumbled.

Cameron smiled a little, shocked to see the Honchkrow acting so soft. "It's fine..."

"Please, don't talk about this to anyone."

"Umm, alright." Cameron agreed. After talking through the whole thing with Holt, Cameron still felt a little awkward for some reason. It just felt so out of place. Everything. "...Let's go check out how our team is doing." he suggested, breaking the silence.

-000-

Holt and Cameron walked back to the group to see all the others waiting for them.

"Cameron, hurry the fuck up and light this monstrosity on fire." Xavier spat, eyeing the sculpture up and down.

Cameron rolled his eyes, strolling over. "I'm going, I'm moving!"

Nova put a hand over her mouth. "Is this really going to work? Can you melt wet sand into glass?"

"I mean, it won't be wet after I blast it." Cameron joked, proceeding to use Flamethrower on the wet pile of sand, shaped to resemble a small light bulb.

Just as Cameron did this, he heard a shout.

"THE CHALLENGE IS OFFICIALLY OVER!"

"Crap!" Cameron stopped using Flamethrower, startled by Victini's outburst.

"What the heck?! Keep going!" ordered Zevulun, shoving Cameron forward.

Cameron prepared to use Flamethrower again before Victini appeared in front of him.

Waving a finger in front of himself, he said, "Uh-uh-uh! Editing your sculpture after the timer has stopped will automatically get you team disqualified."

Tina gave him a look. "You never said that. How were we supposed to know?"

"You weren't." Victini laughed. "Okay, everybody! Please bring your sculpture over to the T.V. for judging!"

000

"Alright, we're screwed." Jordan nonchalantly surmised, looking over their sculpture mold.

"Umm, come again?" requested Paige, staring down Jordan.

"We have literally nothing to burn this stupid sculpture with."

"Why couldn't you have realized that earlier!" Zenith badgered, throwing his arms up.

The others began letting out comments of disapproval.

Smirking, Charlotte said, "Way to go, Jordan."

"Shut up, and move." Jordan dragged Charlotte to the T.V., her teammates following behind.

000

"Well, what are we gonna turn in?" asked Lily. "We didn't have any time to actually heat up our sculpture."

"Damn..." said Pax. "Did _anybody_ have time? I don't see any sculptures!"

"Let's find out." responded Lily. She bent down to pick up a random piece of glass in the ground before walking towards Victini.

"Wait!" yelled Pax, running after her. "You're turning that in?"

Lily nodded.

"What even is that?"

"A test Calvin made to make sure he could actually melt sand into glass."

It was rounded and had an irregular shape.

Pax gave her an unsure look. "Oh... Alright, then..."

000

When all four teams finally arrived at the T.V. for judging, Victini began speaking.

"Now that everyone's here, let's start judging! Up first: The Slummers." Victini announced. He and Mew floated over Lily's team, seeing no sculpture anywhere.

Putting his hands on his hips, he said, "Okay...am I missing something? 'Cause...I don't see anything."

Lily opened her hand to reveal the small piece of glass, and she held it out to the hosts.

Mew bent his arms upward. "Wow... That's just... Wow."

Victini nodded, looking at The Slummers disappointedly. "Yeah, this is embarrassing. Two out ten, sense you actually have _something_."

"Same. I can't even justify this."

"Hey, don't get mad at us for giving us basically no time to finish!" Marshall chided.

"Hey," Victini repeated. "Maybe if you actually got your head out of your ass and starting caring for team, your guys wouldn't have made such a piece of shit."

"DAMN." Mew faltered, his voice breaking.

Marshall got ready to talk back, but Victini beat him to it. "Well, that's four out of twenty. Somehow, I feel like that won't be the worst score." he announced. "Moving on, we have The W's Let's see what you've got!"

The Slummers moved out of the way, making room for the next team.

Holt and his team moved forward, Holt carrying a small glass statue. He placed it firmly on the ground in front of Mew and Victini, digging the base into the sand.

It was a light bulb, placed on a pedestal, but the top of light bulb started dripping down, giving it a melted effect.

"What is this?" Mew got closer, looking into it.

"A melting...light bulb." Holt groaned, covering his face with a wing.

"Ooh, is it abstract?"

Cameron opened his mouth, putting a finger up. "No, we just-"

Holt immediately covered his mouth with a wing. "Y-Yes, of course..." he lied. "It's supposed to represent...the struggles of _global warming_...a-and, er, what we must do..._to stop it_!"

Mew smiled, holding his hands together. "Ooh, I like it. Nine out of ten."

Victini gave him an unimpressed glance. "Yeah, no. Not that great, but better than the last team's. Six out of ten."

Holt glared at him.

"That's fifteen out of twenty! Now get a move on! Next are the Overgrown Brambles."

Holt begrudgingly moved forward, his team following suit. Moving in their place, Kip and his team collectively lugged a large, grandiose sandcastle sculpture.

They dropped it into the ground with a loud _thump_, kicking up sand.

"Ahh, now that's what I call a sculpture!" Victini hummed, looking the sandcastle up and down. "How did you guys even melt the sand? You don't have any fire-types on your team."

Kip raised a hand. "I know a fire-type move."

"Really now?" Victini asked, turning to Mew. "Can Kadabra's even learn them?"

Mew shrugged.

"Well, regardless, this is the best I've seen so far!" approved Victini. "Ten out of ten! Even with something as simple as a sandcastle, you actually managed to make is look...graceful. This is really good."

Mew nodded. "Great job! I'm thinking ten out of ten, too!"

"That's a perfect score! Will the next team be able to replicate it?"

000

Everyone on The Heart of the Game were angrily whispering at each other.

"Are we _really_ going in with nothing?!" asked Charlotte.

"I don't see you having any better ideas!" Jordan snapped, stepping towards Charlotte.

"...Why do you have to be so difficult?!"

Pearla got in between the two of them. "Ladies, can you please stop arguing?! We need a plan!"

Jordan sighed, furrowing her brow. "Let's just..." Before she could finish her sentence, she felt a sudden change in her weight.

"...Huh?!" Looking down, Jordan could see an orange aura surround her whole body, lifting her up off the ground along with her other teammates.

They floated over to Victini and Mew, being dropped on the ground.

"Where's your sculpture?!" Victini asked, irritated. "I called you guys over like five minutes ago!"

Jordan stood up, grimacing from pain. "W-We don't..."

Charlotte sighed. "What she's trying to say is that we don't have a sculpture because she's a horrible team leader."

"Hey, I just gave everyone orders! It's your problem that you didn't actually complete them! God, you're so damn petty!"

"Seriously," started Charlotte. "When did you get so bitchy? I swear you were just some wannabe gossip girl when you first got here. What happened?"

"I decided to get serious! That's what happened!"

Victini folded his arms, disrupting their argument. "Just shut up, already! You guys get a zero out of twenty, alright?!"

Jordan groaned, placing a 'hand' on her 'forehead'. "Goddammit..." Her voice broke.

000

Victini and Mew flew back into the center of the squares, in front of the fifty-four contestants.

"We have our scores!" Victini announced. "In last place, we have...The Heart if the Game, with zero points out of twenty."

Grayson tried to restrain a laugh, but couldn't hold back. "Ah...ahahahAHAH!"

Jordan proceeded to walk over to him, and kick him in the face, effectively silencing him.

"Um, in third place," started Mew. "We have The Slummers, with two points out of twenty."

Jordan smirked. "You're not much better, are you?" she mocked in a smug tone.

Victini continued. "And in second place, we have...The W's, with fifteen points out of twenty."

"Wow," said Nova. "That's a big jump."

Mew nodded. "Which means..."

Maxine gasped, turning to her team. "We won! We won, we won!"

"Yup, the Overgrown Brambles are in first, with a perfect score; twenty out of twenty!"

The Overgrown Brambles cheered, overcome with excitement.

Paige groaned, dragging a 'hand' down her face. "And we're up for elimination!"

"Good job, Jordan!" Charlotte said sarcastically.

Jordan opened her mouth, ready to respond when-

"Actually..." Victini started. "That's not true." This silenced all the cheers.

"What?" asked Grover. "B-But they lost! They should send someone home!"

"Nope!" said Victini. "This was actually a reward challenge! Your first elimination challenge starts later today!"

Grover turned around, looking up. "Jesus fucking..."

"First place gets an advantage in the next challenge, while the rest get nothing!"

Jordan turned to Charlotte, smiling. "Would you look at that? Second, third, or fourth. It wouldn't have mattered anyway."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Oh, shut it."

"So sad!"

Getting everyone's attention again, Victini said, "It's currently three: forty-eight, so I want all of you to meet me back at the front of the mansion at seven. Feel free to do whatever you want while you wait, but for now, you're all dismissed."

Watching the teams walk off, Mew and Victini turned to the cameras.

"And that marks the end of our first episode!" Victini announced. "Sadly, no one got eliminated. There was lots of juicy gossip and drama. I can't wait to see how this turns out!" He waved to the camera. "For now, though, bye! We hope you tune in next time!

000

...

That was it. The challenge was over. Maxine's team won, and everyone else lost.

But despite this revelation, Travis decided to stick around the beach for a little longer.

As Travis began to head back to the mansion, he saw a figure sitting under a tree, across from the building.

Grover. He was writing on a notepad, furiously scribbling a message onto it.

_"The Pokémon here are annoying, the hosts: annoying. Everything is __**annoying**__!"_

Travis frowned upon seeing the Snubble's expression. It made it look like he was getting mad for no reason. Travis let out a frustrated sigh, exiting the building and walking towards Grover.

Grover glanced up at the Trevenant before quickly looking back down. "What do _you_ want?"

"You're so cold and distant! What's your problem?!"

"_God_, your voice. Forget I asked anything."

Travis could only roll his eyes at Grover's awful attempt at shutting him down. "Yeah, I have a deep voice. I can't change that. Seriously, your fetish with being angry all the time is making everyone _incredibly_ uncomfortable."

"I have my reasons."

Crossing his arms, Travis said: "Oh yeah? Let's hear them."

"Why should I care what others think of me? They should being bowing down, I am their king."

"You're delusional too? How surprising..."

"Oh, fuck you! It's not my fault everyone acts psycho! We're not wild animals anymore." He turned away, a sudden change of tone in his voice. "I-It's not like that...anymore."

"(Stuttering?)" Travis thought.

Grover looked sad, just for a second, before turning back to Travis. "A-And...you! I swear I can feel the ground shake whenever you talk."

Travis let out a small laugh. "Heh, don't need to repeat yourself. You do so much complaining, yet, sooner or later, you're gonna put someone down by telling them to 'grow thicker skin' after complaining about something completely reasonable. That's just what you kind of people do."

"I can do without the criticism for today. Now please...fuck off."

Travis let out another small laugh, emptier than the last. "No. You're gonna tell me why you joined this show. Right now."

"Why I joined? Duh! The same reason everyone else is here! The prize! Don't complicate things more than they have to be."

"Really? I would've thought you _loved_ doing that. Anyway, you came to win. To get the prize. But how do you expect to do that when everyone is against you?" Travis asked. "When was the last time you saw an antagonist win?

Grover stared at Travis blankly, knowing where he was going with this.

"I've personally only seen it twice, but even then, they both had redeeming qualities! One was strategic and the other was funny, _and_ occasionally nice. And here you are, calling literally everything annoying!"

"Wha- How did you-?"

"My point is: you can't stay mad at the others forever and you can't stay mad at _me_ forever. Eventually, you're going to have to move past this."

"You're not. As above this. As you...think...you...AREEE!"

"You're right. I'm not. But neither are you. And if you want to change that, you're going to have to start acting mature."

Grover froze, holding his notepad tighter.

"And hey," Travis began. "If you ever need someone to talk about your feelings-"

"God, I get it! No need to get all sappy with me!"

Travis let out a genuine laugh, snorting. "Right, thanks for listening. I'll be back in our room."

Grover grunted in response, watching Travis walk off.

Once he was sure Travis was gone, he let out a sigh, deflating. "Maybe..."

**000**

**COMPETITORS REMAINING: 55**

**The Slummers: Ann, Brazier, Bryson, Calvin, Cosmoem, Emily, Grayson, Kyle, Lily, Marshall, Pax, Phoenix, Robin, and Serenity. (14)**

**The W's: Arlo, Cameron, Diancie, Holt, Leonardo, Loek, Mack, Mist, Nova, Tina, Viola, Vontell, Xavier, and Zevulun. (14)**

**The Overgrown Brambles: Berri, Bubble, Drew, Gemmi, Grover, Jared, Kip, Lance, Maxine, Rita, Satoshi, Winthrop, and Zero. (13)**

**The Heart of the Game: April, Charlotte, Echo, Esther, Jordan, Loki, Nemeia, Octavia, Paige, Pearla, Sage, Travis, Vanessa, and Zenith. (14)**

**000**

Yup, the end.

...Review? I want constructive criticism. Poke holes into my plot, point out continuity errors, call out spelling and grammar mistakes, I'M **BEGGING **YOU.


	2. Chapter 2: I Gingerly Pick

**It's time...**

**Also sorry chapters 1 2 are super BAAAAAAAD yucky.**

**I'lll try to improve on chapter 3 :)**

**Alsoaslo I reuplodaded thisn because I had to fix aosmething okay byes**

**000**

"Oh...hey! You're _hugging_ me..."

Victini slowly let go of Mew, giggling and full of pep. "Of course! Have you seen how our show's been doing?!"

Mew shook his head. Keeping up a smile, he waited for an answer.

"Apparently it's exploded since the first episode released!" Victini teleported a laptop in his hands, talking on. "It even has a blog now."

Opening the laptop, he pulled up the website and scrolled through it. "There's a page for all the competitors, including us." The fennec glanced over to Mew with enthusiasm, awaiting a response.

Noticing Victini's expectant eyes, Mew stumbled over his own words. "Umm... That's, uh, nice, I g-guess..."

Victini faltered in place, lowering his eyes a bit. "...Aren't you happy?"

"I mean...I'm happy that you're successful and all. I know how hard you tried to set the whole thing up."

"Oh...um, thanks..." Victini brang his eyes further down, not wanting Mew's gaze to meet his own. His eyes drifted to a picture of Mew on the website.

He gained an idea.

To break the awkward silence, Victini pulled up Mew's page. "Let's see what the audience thinks of y-"

He stopped himself, reading Mew's About Section. One line specifically stood out to him.

_The better, nicer, more genuine host._

"..." It was unintentional, but those words stung him.

"...What is it?" asked Mew, concerned. His expression seemed more nervous than his voice would allow.

Victini ignored Mew and proceeded to check his own page; he _wanted _to see what the writers had to say about him.

_The meaner host of the two. Manipulative, close-minded, and a lot like most reality T.V. hosts._

"Vic...tini?" Mew's eyes wavered a bit.

Half-expecting Mew to rush over and look, Victini slammed the lid quickly. A bit _too _quickly.

Warping the laptop back into his room, Victini put on a forced smile. "Hey, Mew, do you want to host the next episode by yourself? You said you wanted to do more, right?" he offered, catching the startle in Mew's eyes at the proposition.

"Well this came outta nowhere. Isn't this _your_ show?"

Victini nodded.

Realizing Mew wasn't buying it, Victini decided to add: "Just looking out for a friend, you know?"

Mew tilted his head, raising a brow. "Well...sure, but don't you still wanna host?"

"Yeah, but..." Victini sighed. "(There's no point if nobody actually wants to see me...)" He let out a forced, out of place laugh. "Like you said, there's no point in having you here if you're not going to do anything."

"But if you like hosting, I don't want to take that away from you."

Victini huffed at Mew's persistence. He wasn't going to give up until Victini was happy, was he?

"(That's just like him...)" Looking away for a moment, Victini scowled. "(Arceus, why do you have to be so...)"

He coughed, regaining focus. "Then we can switch roles. We technically have the same role, but at the end of the day, you'll end up doing more stuff."

"Oh... Alright. I'll do it."

"I'm warning you, though... There's a LOT of paperwork."

Mew brushed the warning off, smirking. "How hard can it be?"

Victini tittered. "You'll see..."

_Mew, Victini, Meloetta, and Uxie were all sitting on the ground of the living room, shoulder to shoulder. Each had a drowsy expression on their face while they tried holding up a conversation. A movie played on an old T.V., though no one was really paying attention._

_They all shared laughs, and each held a soft smile._

_Victini rested his head on his knees as he chatted with Mew. As they spoke to each other, Meloetta wrapped her right arm around Victini's left arm, closing her eyes and yawning._

_Seeing this, Mew chuckled, patting Victini on the shoulder._

_Victini looked away, turning his head to Meloetta and blushing._

"_...you..._" Victini mumbled something, but Mew could only make out one word due to the pelting rain outside.

"What?"

Victini flinched, remembering he was still out in the open. "N-Nothing." He smiled bringing his eyebrows down in a downcast manner.

Mew eyed Victini with suspicion. "(I'm not dropping that that easily...)" He made a mental note to ask again later, not wanting to pry into Victini's good mood at the moment. "...So, when are we going back to the island?"

"Uhh, soon! Don't worry I'll remind you."

Mew winked, giving Victini finger guns. "Cool." With a wave, he headed back to his room.

Victini sighed as Mew floated away, out of sight. He brang himself over to the counter, resting his head on an arm. He began humming to himself. "I need to do something about Arceus..." he murmured.

000

When the first contest had ended and Victini dismissed everyone from the beach, the competitors broke off into groups. Those groups being their teams.

This fact made it easier for April to block her team's path, minus Travis.

"Hold on, everyone!" She got in front of them as they passed the cafeteria. "What are you guys planning on doing until the next challenge? Stay in your room?"

Zenith shrugged. "I still wanna have a look around. If there's a gym or something, I'm stayin' there..."

"I'm going with him." Loki added, smiling. Zenith gave him a weird look but didn't seem to protest. "What? I've been in every room that isn't off-limits, so I can help."

"Fine with me."

Jordan smirked, glancing over to Echo and April. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm sticking with my friends."

Nemeia yawned. "I'm turning in for now. Watching you guys do _all_ that _hard_ _work_ was _soooo_ tiring!" She placed a paw on her face and dramatically sighed.

"Yeah," intoned Vanessa. "Why do you wanna know anyway?"

"...Well, I just thought sense we're a team and we'll be working together for the next couple of weeks, we could stand to get to know each other a little better AND actually learn to get along!" The Corsola looked over to Jordan and Charlotte.

Jordan narrowed her eyes at April. "Learn to get along? What-What are you trying to say?"

"You and Jordan are the only ones that have drama on this team. It's like you guys despise each other!"

"I'm sorry, but that's how I feel!"

"If it's those two you're worried about, you don't need to drag us along." said Octavia. "I have tea to spill, drama to start, Twitter beef!"

"Yeah, can we leave now?" asked Sage, the child moving up and down impatiently. "I wanna watch YouTube!"

"Guuuuys!" April moaned. "I just want all of us to be together. No arguing!"

"Any normal team is going to have arguments, and that's perfectly fine." said Travis. He looked over to Jordan and Charlotte. "As long as things don't get...personal..." he explained. "Asking us to not have arguments is a little _unreasonable_, don't you think?"

Charlotte looked away. "To be honest, I'm not even really mad at her. I am mad, however, at how STUPID that challenge was."

"Stupid how?" asked Pearla.

"Only two hours to create a glass sculpture? That's way too little time!"

"Well, none of us have done this before, so it makes sense."

"Then why give such little time?!"

"It's called a challenge for a reason."

"What's the point if no one is gonna win?"

"Someone _did_ win."

Charlotte decided to shut up, having each of her points completely obliterated by Pearla.

Pearla smirked, feeling all more superior. "Well, _anyway_, I agree with April; we should all get to know each other a _little_ better."

Esther moaned in dismay. "_Really_?" Her sudden question caused all eyes to fall on her, only making her anxious. "I-I mean, it's not like I hate you guys, but I just don't _feel_ like doing anything!"

"Or are you sure it isn't your emo side taking over?" Vanessa commented. This caused Esther to give her a confused look.

"Vanessa, shut up. No one's laughing." April cut in. "Esther, just give it try. Getting to know us better is going to be beneficial in the long run. Might as well get it over with now, right?"

Esther sighed. The Jumpluff brought up a good point. Though Esther never intended on joining the show, let alone winning, she thought it might be good if she didn't immediately get eliminated after only a few episodes. "...Let's just get this over with."

-000-

April led her team to the recreational room. She laid down the rules and quickly set everyone away, letting them play games and interact as they pleased.

-000-

A pop song played through the air as the contestants began doing their own things.

Zenith took in a deep breath, before dropping onto the couch, lifting his head back. Loki sat down next to him, giving the Golisopod a goofy smile. "It's only been, like, two minutes and you already seem winded."

Zenith shook his head. "...This feels like some sad party." he said. "As if the first challenge wasn't _enough_ socializing."

Loki tittered. "How cute. If you thought the first challenge was bad, then oh are you going to love the second one!"

Zenith rose a brow, turning to Loki. "...That's...unusually snarky of you."

"Or maybe you just don't know me well enough." Loki held up the devious expression, trying to bring up Zenith's mood.

Hearing Loki's response, Zenith let out a low laugh. "Heheh..."

Loki stood up from his seat and grabbed Zenith's arm, pulling him off of the sofa. "Come on, let's go check out the magazine rack! I bet they have some ridiculously unbelievable tabloids in there."

-000-

Pearla put a paw to her forehead, awestruck. "I still can't believe we're actually here! I mean, only in my dreams- only in my dreams could I ever see this happening!"

Paige looked around a bit before realizing Pearla was talking to her. "...Um, Okay...? Do you actually think you're gonna win?"

"Well... Maybe if I try hard enough? It's not about winning for me."

"I think I'll probably quit after a couple of days, there's not that many people I like here..."

"Really? What about that Barbaracle? He's your boyfriend, right? You wouldn't want to leave him behind."

Paige put on a slightly irritated expression. "Ugh, let's not talk about _Bryson_." She said his name with disgust.

"Why? What's wrong with him?"

"He forced me into joining this show with him _even_ after I told him I wanted to go to my friend's art show next weekend!"

"Well, that's just one mistake, right? You can't just write him off as a bad guy after one little thing."

"Oh, trust me, Pearla. We've been together for five years and he's done _much_ more that."

"(Yeesh...)"

000

Cameron initially planned on heading to the Rec. Room to try and relax his sudden anger a bit, but seeing as there were people already in there...

"Jesus butt-fucking Christ!" He just wanted to do something to take his mind off of Brazier and listening to people enjoying themselves only made him angrier. He stalked over to the map on the wall, quickly scanning each room's name.

His eyes came to a halt around halfway in. "(...The garden?)" The Charmander looked to his right; the room wasn't very far off. (Well, plants are super fucking boring, so I doubt anybody'll be in there.)" He pressed his lips together. "Hopefully I can find something to distract myself while I'm there..." he muttered.

-000-

Leonardo moved in closer, inspecting a sprout that had been growing from a single white pot. As he tapped one of the leaves with a claw, he heard the door open.

Cameron took a step in, taking a gander at the room.

The room was decently sized compared to the others. There were nine tables evenly spaced out with various plants sitting on it. The walls, which were painted white, also had hooks protruding out of it, plants hung from each one. The wall facing outside wasn't a wall, but a gigantic window that illuminated the whole room.

Cameron quickly realized his eyes had stopped on Leonardo, just grumbling.

Leonardo turned to face the Charmander, tightening his sash. "Oh, uh, hey, Cameron!"

Cameron rolled his eyes, taking a step back out of the room. Just as he was about to close the door, Leonardo attempted to assess the situation.

"W-Wait! Where are you going?"

"I walked in here, hoping to be alone, but seeing that you're here..."

Leonardo shook his head. "Oh, don't worry I...won't bother you. Do what you want." He sighed to himself. He's only had a lengthy conversation with only two people on the island, aside from the hosts, and they already disliked him.

Cameron inhaled deeply, stuck on the Kecleon's words. He sighed, stepping back in. "Fine..."

Leonardo let out a breath he had no idea he was holding in. With his back turned to Cameron, Leonardo continued to inspect the little sprout.

Sitting in a nearby chair, Cameron awkwardly watched Leonardo do his own thing.

The Kecleon scanned the plants, feeling them, making sure to be delicate. A couple times in between, he grabbed a nearby watering can and catered to one of the plants.

"So, um..." Cameron rested his head on an arm, eyelids drooped. "What are you doing? You seem very interested in...this."

"I'm just...checking out the plants, making sure they're okay..." Leonardo explained. "What surprises me is that most of these plants are really well tended to. I don't know how long they've been sitting here, but it seems like someone comes along every day to take care of them."

Cameron rose a brow. "What? Like a maid or butler?"

"Yeah, something like that. It's weird that we haven't seen anybody else other than other competitors. Due to how big this place is, I expect there to be quite a couple of Pokémon taking care of it."

"Maybe Victini takes care of it?" Cameron suggested. "He could just teleport stuff or whatever..."

Leonardo shrugged. "It's a possibility, but it doesn't really matter." He rested the green watering can on top of a table. "I'll be checking in everyday! I'm excited to start planting my own stuff here!"

"Plant stuff? Do you like gardening?"

Leonardo nodded, hands on hips with a beaming expression. "Just a little hobby. I have my own small garden at home that I'm around ninety-percent of the time." he explained. "Sense I...don't have a job yet, most of the garden is funded by my dad, which is why I barely grow anything; I don't want him to waste his money on me! So, it's nice to have high-quality equipment all at my disposal for free."

"Why does this sound like the start of an ad?"

Leonardo scratched the back of his head, smiling nervously. "Sorry, gardening isn't that interesting to you, is it?"

"Not really." answered Cameron. "Why do _you_ like it?"

A small smile formed on Leonardo's face as he thought about it. "It's just so...amazing. Each plant brings a unique experience. The way they look, the way they feel. The way they _make_ you feel..." he closed his eyes. "That even when you're sitting in a pot, doing nothing but being taken care of all day..." he sighed. "...At least you have a better life than me..."

Cameron's eyes were widened, the Charmander not expecting such a complex response. "...That's...a _way_ to look at it." He couldn't decide whether or not it was a _good_ way, or a _bad_ way...

"Sorry... I just got all weird for a moment... Just ignore that! Heh heh..."

Cameron looked away, focusing on a hydrangea on one of the tables. He and Leonardo viewed plants from a different perspective, therefore, the end result being them having different opinions on the topic.

He thought gardening was boring, but Leonardo didn't feel that way. ...What if he tried viewing other things from a different perspective?

000

Brazier and Phoenix walked past the garden's door; muffled voices could be heard from inside.

"It sucks how after years of being separated, the five of us can't even hang out together." Phoenix expressed, putting his 'hands' up.

"Mmm."

"I mean... At least the two of us are together..."

"Mhm..."

"And Vontell is nice too..."

"..."

"But it's like Winthrop doesn't even care about us anymore! He keeps talking - _hanging_ around that Kadabra; I haven't spoken to him since we left the boat..."

"...Wasn't that only a couple of hours ago?" asked Brazier.

"Yeah, but he's completely ignoring us. He won't wave back to me, say hi to me, he won't even look at me!"

Brazier sighed, slowly coming to a halt in front of the Rec. Room's door. He looked Phoenix in the face with a furrowed brow.

"Phoenix, I _want_ to be angry. I really do." His voice was something akin to a whisper. "But I haven't had a **real** conversation with these guys in _years_! I have no idea what's been going on in their lives since I left." His breathing became ragged. "All I have is a bunch of meaningless texts between us. No- not even 'a bunch'! I don't have Winthrop's number, Vontell only talks to me about photography stuff, which it's pretty rare if he decides to respond to me at all, and Cameron..." That's where he trailed off, opening room for Phoenix to answer.

"R-Really...?" Phoenix gulped. He started to over-analyze every text he sent to Brazier since he moved, up until he invited the Bulbasaur to join the show.

"...I-I just don't get it... Is it... Is it me?"

Before Phoenix could protest, Brazier added: "You're the only one that's actually capable of talking to me like a normal person."

"..." Phoenix stepped back. He hated this. Hated seeing Brazier _like_ this.

"I'll get all of us back together, I promise." The Pikachu pulled Brazier into a tight hug. Once apart, Phoenix placed a hand on the framework of the Rec. Room's door, lightly tracing the ridges. "Hey, um, why don't we check out the Rec. Room and play something?"

"It sounds like someone's already in there, though." Brazier lightly knocked on the door.

"So? No one is gonna stop the two of us from having fun!"

Brazier shrugged, seeing no reason to oppose.

Taking that as a sign of approval, Phoenix opened the door...

000

Back in the cafeteria...

Drew opened the fridge in delight, rummaging through it. Any food be deemed tasty, he handed to Jared.

The Zangoose was astonished by how much food Drew was grabbing. "Why are we getting so much?" His arms shuddered due chill emanating from the food and drinks.

Drew rolled his eyes playfully. "We're gonna be in the Gaming Room for...how long? A couple of hours, maybe. We _have_ to stock up on food."

"Isn't this a little...too much? Even for the five of us?" Again, Jared shuddered, taking a fairly large step away from the fridge.

"No one is complaining." Drew insisted. He reached out and grabbed a juice box, his eyes lighting up. "Pinap Fro Punch!"

As he lightly placed the blue and gold box in Jared's arms, Jared groaned. "I don't...think I can carry anymore!"

Closing the fridge, Drew said, "Here, give me half." Jared slid half of the pile into Drew's wings, a few boxes slipping onto the floor. "Good, now let's check the cabinets."

Jared's eyes widened. "Uh— Nope!" He ambled his way across the room, opening the kitchen's door. "You can do that yourself!"

A snigger escaped Drew's mouth as Jared ran off. "M-hm!" Gently, he placed the weight on his wings onto the counter, ready to open the cupboards.

As he opened the ebony cabinet, he spotted a box of crackers. It had a pink and yellow combination of stripes covering the whole thing with a Manetric on the front. Drew blinked in confusion. "...Ebony?"

Shaking his head, he pushed away the odd feeling. He ripped open the box with vigor, ready to ravish when he spotted something sticking out from the seams. "...?"

He tugged out the small slip of paper with little effort, holding it up to his face. He let out a gasp. "(This is an Immunity Ticket!" Blinking a couple of times, he rubbed his eyes. "(I knew they said that it'd be hidden in random places, but I didn't think it'd be this random! And obvious, too...)"

The Noivern hopped in delight, tensing his shoulders up. "(I can't believe I found one on the first day, though! This is so cool!)"

-000-

Drew stepped into the Gaming Room, carrying all the edibles he grabbed from the kitchen. "I'm back~"

The room wasn't super big. It had four T.V.s on each wall. One for the Xbox One X, one for the Switch, one for the PlayStation 4 Pro, and one for all old consoles, with you being able to swap the consoles out for the ones you want to use. There was also a box in one of the corners, containing a bunch of handhelds.

Right in the center of the room, four Pokémon were sitting in a circle, chatting - Satoshi, Jared, Max, and Lance.

Jared turned his head around to face Drew being the one turned away from the door. "...I don't know how you expect us to eat all of this."

Giving him a toothy grin, Drew dumped the pile of food next to the group and joined the circle. "I don't."

Maxine barked, attempting to drive the conversation forward. "So, what are we gonna play?"

"We can play a video game or just...talk. Anything is fine, really. I just don't want to lay in bed all day!"

Maxine rose a brow. "Talk? Boring, but okay."

The five of them sat in awkward silence despite holding a conversation before Drew walked in.

"Well..." To everyone's surprise, Satoshi spoke up. "Where is the rest of the team? Did you, um, only ask us to come?"

Drew looked up, grabbing a chocolate bar from the pile. "Let's see... Grover rejected me, Zero kept changing the topic, Winthrop and Kip didn't answer their door, and I couldn't find Berri. Rita said she would come, but she isn't here, and Gemmi and Bubble said they might come, and _they_ aren't here."

Lance blinked. "W-Wow..."

"Uh-huh." Drew lazily nodded, mouth full of chocolate.

Jared shook his head. "They're missing out. A darn shame..."

"Eh, I p-prefer the s-silence." Lance responded. "Grover and R-Rita are kind of a-a-annoying, anyway. Oh, and Zero!"

"Hey! Grover can redeem himself." Drew argued. "We just need to give him some time.

Jared rolled his eyes. "We'll see about that." he mumbled loud enough for the four of them to hear. "Just don't forget how awful he's been since we got here."

"..."

The mood seemed a little tender after that little jab, but Drew was quick to try and fix things up.

He removed his eyes from the ground after mulling it over. "So..." He started, a hint of annoyance still in his voice. "Is... Is everyone enjoying their stay here? Did you guys actually like the first challenge?"

Maxine laughed in an attempt to lift the mood a bit. "Honestly, I'm loving it! The fact that we're staying in a mansion is awesome, and the first challenge was really fun. We even won!"

Jared nodded. "Yeah, and I even get to be on a team with you guys."

Satoshi sighed, tired. "It's...pretty overwhelming..."

Lance lowered his eyes, completely ignoring the topic. "Does anyone feel a-anything...off...about this island?"

Immediately Max's eyes lit up curiosity. Lance stayed quiet, though, opting her to quirk an eyebrow.

"This place feels...empty." Lance finally continued.

An apathetic expression crossed Jared's face. "Well, of course. The fifty-four of us are supposed to be the only ones here aside from Mew and Victini and any other Pokémon they bring for challenges."

"Don't you mean fifty-five?" corrected Drew. He crumpled up the wrapper and place it to his side.

Jared nodded. "Yeah, but Robin isn't here, so it's fifty-four."

"She might be."

...

Jared blinked.

"Th-That doesn't matter!" Lance cut in. "This place feels empty becau-because it...I don't know, feels like there used to be others here before us?"

"You mean other contestants?" Max suggested. "This island might have been used for a show before."

"Not like that!" Lance shouted. "But like...something- I mean some_one_ was living here-"

"Don't be ridiculous." Jared interrupted. "That's something you'd see in an anime." Jared, however, didn't even seem convinced with his own reasoning.

"Umm..." began Drew, scratching his chin. "Someone living on the island before Victini and Mew decided to use it wouldn't be that farfetched."

"Whatever..." Jared growled softly. Was he...doing that on purpose? Was he really _that_ angry?

Drew gave him a worried look. "(Is he okay?)" The Noivern harrumphed, blowing bits of chocolate out of his fur.

"I-I think we should play a game now." Standing up, he was tried his best not to make the situation awkward.

"What are gonna play?" asked Jared, seemingly not bothered anymore.

Drew narrowed his eyes at the Zangoose, but quickly looked away to avoid him from noticing. "We have tons of options, so I wanna hear you guys' opinions first."

Jared raise a hand, sporting a deadpan expression. "If we don't play an anime game, I **will** scream."

"I want a game w-with a story driven plot!" Lance exclaimed.

"Uhh..." Satoshi warily glanced around. "Anything is, uh, fun-fine...I guess..."

"Anything with tons of action will appease me!" barked Max.

Drew scratched the scruff on his chin again. "And it has to be multi-player too..."

He turned to the complete rack of PS4 games, thinking for a second, before pulling out a box.

000

Hours, minutes, seconds passed by. Eventually, the clock struck seven.

There was a stir in the shadows behind the mansion. Leaves rustled and danced in the air. A storm was brewing... But was that really just it?

The competitors gathered at the front of the building, awaiting the hosts' arrival.

Xavier glanced skyward, emitting a groan. "Those bozos need to hurry the heck up! I swear it's gonna start raining in a couple hours!" He wasn't talking to anyone in particular other than himself.

A loud bang crashed throughout the sky, a flash accompanying it.

"...Maybe even sooner."

"I like the rain!" Bubble exclaimed. He clapped his flippers together in delight.

Xavier narrowed his eyes at the Popplio, nearing them to slits. He didn't intend for anyone to respond.

"Oh, believe me when I say this: I saw Bubble standing out in the rain for four hours _straight_ a couple weeks ago!" Ann confirmed, hopping over. She held a sort-of-smirk on her face.

"Y-You saw that?" Bubble's eyes flickered nervously.

"Uh-huh." the Tympole nodded. "We go to the same school. I'm pretty sure you ended up skipping four out of five classes that day."

Bubble winced, attempting to glance away.

"Wow..." hummed Xavier, flying in front of Bubble. "If you're gonna skip class, then you should do something _actually_ worthwhile."

Frowning, Bubble groaned, "Are we really talking about this right now?"

"Yes, there's no escaping the truth!" said Xavier, playfully.

Ann kept at it. "Mhm, in fact, why don't we teach you how to skip class the _right_ way?"

"It's summer!" Bubble shouted.

"Exactly," Xavier rose his eyebrows in amusement. "That gives us more than enough time!"

Ann smiled to herself. It was a pleasant surprise that Xavier decided to play along instead of storming off like he displayed earlier with Rita.

Bubble hunched his shoulders in defeat. "Fine... Do you skip class often?"

"Me?" Xavier looked to the side in thought. "...A couple times a month, yeah."

"And you never get in trouble?"

"Nope," the Hydreigon placed his 'hands' on his hips gallantly, as if this was supposed to be something to be proud of. "I have good grades, too. I know all the material in my classes so I'm fine." He smiled deviously. "(And I could probably skip a couple of challenges, too...)"

"...What's with that face?" Bubble titled his head. A worried look had crossed his face.

Xavier snickered. "Nothing," he dismissed.

Out of the blue, Mew and Victini teleported onto the scene, quieting all causal conversations down to whispers.

-000-

"Greetings, everyone!" addressed Mew, fists on his hips. Victini was by his side, blankly staring off somewhere.

"..."

Met with silence by the competitors, Mew's eyes darted to Victini. In a low whisper, he said, "U-Um... I don't think they..."

Victini leaned in, whispering back, "It's fine. You can do it!"

"Right..." Mew turned back to the contestants, running a hand through his hair. "Well, uh, after the first episode aired a couple hours ago, this show's gotten a lot of recognition." He raised his voice once again.

"It's seems like our viewers have already decided on a most liked and most hated contestant." Victini added.

"A blog has been made on our show, and there's a huge ranking list of all of you." Mew elaborated. He clasped his hands together, seemingly getting more into it. "Victini and I decided to investigate the blog a little; we found out that the viewers vote on a poll for their favorite and least favorite competitor, which is how the list is formed."

Grover folded his arms with a quirked brow. "And you're telling this us this _because_...?" He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was curious to see where this was going.

"Because we thought it would be it would be a fun idea to add a new gimmick to the game." Victini laughed, covering his mouth.

Grover's face quickly fell. "_Of course,_" he muttered.

Mew tilted his head. "I believe you mean, _you _thought it was a good idea?"

"_Yeah_..." Victini smiled.

"Well, Victini, what was this fun idea that you had planned for us?" asked Jordan, annoyed.

Victini stayed silent, signaling Mew to explain instead. "Well, Victini decided that during every elimination, after the votes are cast, we'll use a machine to randomly decide whether or not the contestant kicked off will be based off the list."

The crowd collectively gasped.

"What do you mean by that?!" Paige threw her arms up.

"We'll have a max of two eliminations like that. The first one will eliminate the least popular contestant on the losing team, while the second one will eliminate the most popular." Mew elaborated. "If we somehow don't get viewer eliminations right until the merge, we'll just have them for the last two team eliminations."

"That's so unfair!" Zero complained. The Salandit closed his eyes. "Especially the most popular one! It's practically begging for me to get kicked off!"

"Hey, be happy that you're not at the bottom of the list." Victini advised, folding his arms.

"Well then, who is?"

Mew tapped his chin. "Oh, I remember this... It was...Grayson!

"Hey!" barked the Pineco. How could that feline say that with so much enthusiasm?!

Mew shrugged. He thought it fit perfectly, so there was no sympathy in that department. "Typism is just a generally hated thing nowadays, he barely has any fans."

Grayson huffed, the corners of his mouth tightening. "Everyone who hates me are probably all non-bug-types, anyway!"

A few individuals snickered at his arrogance.

"...What? ..._What_?!"

"Well," Calvin stepped forward, the Cyndaquil holding a pen and notepad to his face. "Who's the fan-favorite?"

Zero laughed, placing a hand on his chest. "Well of course-"

Victini flew next to him, mimicking his movements and mocking his voice. "_Well of course it's me! I'm perfect!_"

Zero attempted to smack away the mythical, a face of pure revulsion on him.

Emily leaned over to Kyle, whispering, "Apparently they're older than us? I find that really hard to believe."

Zero gave up, backing away instead.

"Well..." started Mew. "The fan-favorite isn't Zero, it's Loki. No surprise there."

The Chesnaught beamed, smiling cutely. He scratched his face with a claw. "D'awww..." He immediately frowned, a serious expression crossing his face. "But that's also scary."

"What?!" exclaimed Zero. "But I'm _amazing_! His face flushed looking around at the other competitors. "At least tell me I'm second!"

Victini laughed, waving his hand down. "HA! No!"

"Ugh! Just...get on with the stupid challenge!"

Mew smirked out of satisfaction. "Of course, Your Majesty." he joked. "Now, as you can see, there are four paths leading into the forest. Not too far in there, Victini discovered four random stone buildings, or what we like to call: 'fortresses'. In each fortress, we placed a powerful Pokémon inside. Your goal is to find this Pokémon and take the gem we gave it. Once you have the gem, you must run out of the fortress, right back to the start. Show us your team's gem, and you win. Last team do so is on the chopping block."

"Now of course the Pokémon isn't going to kill you!" Mew quickly added. "After you get hit by a move once, you'll be teleported back with me and Victini and will be out of the challenge." he explained. "Being hit by something that isn't a move, however, is allowed."

Kip listened intently, searching for a possible loophole in the rules; a way to exploit it. "So, what will my team's advantage be?"

"Don't think I forgot." Mew teleported a tablet into his hand, throwing it over to Kip to catch. "That tablet contains all the information you need to know about your Pokémon. Location, weaknesses, height, weight, all specified to their measurements."

Kip grinned behind his hood's shadow, handing the tablet to Winthrop, the Squirtle eagerly taking it.

Winthrop began looking it over with curiosity. "Hey, did you guys make this? It doesn't look like it's from any existing brands."

Mew nodded happily, taking full interest into the topic. "Victini made it. I only helped a little bit; it looked complicated!"

Victini narrowed his eyes at the cat. "...Shut up, Mew."

Mew blinked. "What?"

Victini floated in front of Mew, blocking the contestants view of him. "Well, The Slummers get the first path, The W's get the second, The Overgrown Brambles get the third, and The Heart of the Game get the fourth. Threetwoone GO!"

Temporarily startled by the sudden start, all the contestants began running to their respective team's path.

-000-

Quickly after running down their paths, each team slowed their pace down to a walk.

The Slummers walk to the fortress in particular, was filled with complete silence. Marshall was leading the way, as everyone expected. The Duskull wasn't showing it, but he was already getting stressed out.

The trees were large, stretching over the team, blocking most of the light coming down. Water droplets started running down the tree's leaves, as it started to drizzle a couple minutes ago.

As Pax hopped over a violet stone jammed into the dirt path, an angry mutter filled his ears.

"Goddammed rain...! My goddammed parents... This _goddammed_ _shooow_."

Grayson was probably speaking louder than he intended to.

"If you hate this show so much, then why did you even sign up in the first place?"

Grayson paused, narrowing his eyes at the Greninja. "I didn't sign up for this. My parents... My goddammed parents forced me on here, trying to..._'thaw me out'_."

As Grayson was speaking, Pax waved his 'hands' in the air, first reaching out into the sky, and then making circular motions with his hands. With his movements, a small bubble of water formed in front of Pax. Just as Grayson finished speaking, Pax turned to him, proceeding to spray the collected rainwater straight in his face.

"Pfftt... Aw, ew, ew, ew! You got it in my mouth!" Grayson turned away from Pax, spitting out water. "This is why I hate this godforsaken-!"

"Jeez, dude! Do you hate everything? It's like your _only_ personality trait. Well...it would be if it _was_ one." Pax laughed, attempting to cover his mouth with his 'scarf'. "Learn to laugh a little, Grayson."

Grayson frowned deeply, hopping over to the Greninja. "Oh, I'll teach you to...!" Charging up, he hopped in the air before quickly slamming his body into the ground, splashing mud onto Pax.

Pax smiled, laughing again. "Hey!" He kicked up mud in Grayson's direction, effectively dirtying him.

Seeing Pax respond positively, Grayson couldn't help but smile. He let up the smallest grin, staring up at Pax. He then began spinning around quickly, continuing the little game.

Marshall sharply turned around, staring down the duo. They had both stopped in place and were a ways back. "Stop acting like children and get over here!"

Pax's eyes shifted towards Marshall, and then back to Grayson. He placed a 'hand' on his hip. "We _are _children."

"Oh! Oh! Ohohoho!" Grayson laughed, almost falling over.

Marshall rolled his eyes, turning away and leading the group once more. "(Guess I now know who _I_ wanna eliminate if we lose...)"

Pax turned back to Grayson, pressing down on his tongue scarf to muffle his laughter again.

Grayson reflected the Greninja's emotions. "Hmhmhm..."

Suddenly his face fell, and he froze in place. "Wait...I'm..." He looked Pax up and down before his signature frown had crossed his face once more. Quickly hopping after the rest of the team.

The Pineco quickly caught up, with Pax running after him, matching his pace.

Pax looked down at Grayson. The Pineco had a discernible frown on his face and was unreadable. Pax couldn't tell if he was angry, sad, disappointed, or all three!

The Greninja unintentionally gave Grayson a sharp glare. He was usually super easy at reading people's emotions, so this was starting to annoy him.

Grayson, to Pax's surprise, was the first to speak up. "What did you do to me?!"

Pax gave him a look. "_...What?_"

"I was...laughing...with you! You were controlling me!"

Pax giggled. "No, Grayson! You were just having fun!"

"...Fun?" Grayson looked seriously conflicted.

"Yeah, you know... It's when you do something, just because it feels good. Like that mud fight."

"I know what fun means, idiot! I just..." Grayson slowed down. "I just couldn't believe I was having fun...with you!" His voice was filled with disgust.

"See, not everyone who isn't the same type as you are bad." Pax smiled. "Besides, didn't you feel happy?"

"Ugh...I know I'm gonna hate myself later for admitting this...but _yes_." Grayson whispered, shifting his eyes around warily.

"That's the first time I've ever seen you happy!"

Grayson let out a huff. "It's only been one day."

"Yes, a good first day."

"_Yeah, yeah, _maybe for you."

000

The W's were about two-thirds of the way through their path at this point.

"So..." began Leonardo. He warily glanced at the mud-covered ground while gripping onto his sash tightly. He tried his best not to get it dirty. "What lead you guys to joining the show?"

Everyone exchanged glances, expecting someone else to speak up first. Seeing this turnout caused Leonardo to sigh. "_Well_, I joined because someone stuck a bunch of posters up all around my hometown. You couldn't walk, like, five feet without seeing Victini's face plastered on the wall."

"They put a crap ton of commercials on T.V too!" Xavier quickly added. "Like, how am I supposed to watch my trash T.V. shows when it's being constantly hammered into my head that some asshole is starting an equally horrible show?!"

Leonardo giggled, covering his mouth. "I think they're trying to save you from Pregnant in Prison."

"Oi! I watch trash T.V. shows! Not god-awful abominations!"

"Seriously, though. That show is a war crime.

"Well..." Nova started, gaining the other's attention. "I saw an ad for it when I was on my laptop and went like...'wHy NoT!?'"

Xavier placed a head to his chin. "Damn... So, they advertised it everywhere every _way_ possible."

"Cosmoem and I overheard Victini's plans in the Hall of Origin and decided to have a little fun..." Diancie sneered.

"Do you guys really have nothing better to do but annoy others?"

"Yup! It's the only form of entertainment you can get anymore!"

"Do you two actually plan on winning? 'Cause you _definitely_ don't need the prize." Nova furrowed her brow in worry. She feared that, because of how strong they were, Diancie and Cosmoem would dominate the game.

"Pffft! No way! I don't know about Cosmoem, but I am _not_ sticking around for Victini's antics!"

Zevulun crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. "Okay, what is you guys' problem with Victini? He certainly isn't doing any better than I am seeing he's a host for a reality show-"

"A show you're apart of..." Arlo commented.

"-But he can't be _that_ bad, can he?

"Like I said, there's nothing to do at the Hall of Origin. Since Victini likes being a jackass, he annoys everyone in his spare time- which is all the time, by the way."

"He certainly doesn't come across that way..." said Leonardo.

"You _obviously_ don't know him well enough."

000

The Heart of the Game was the first team to reach the fortress.

Charlotte propped herself against the wall as she gazed at her team. "Alrighty, I say Travis, Loki, and Zenith go in one group while the rest of us stick together."

Travis held his breath, fully expecting Jordan to come back with a retort.

...But it never came.

He opened his eye, looking over to the Jumpluff. She was staring off into another direction, never batting an eye.

"If I may ask..." Loki started, drumming his claws on his chin. "Why are you excluding us the three of us?"

"I'm not excluding you guys. It's just you three are the strongest ones on our team. If you find the monster, you'll easily be able to take it down."

"Oh... And here I thought it was because we're the only boys here... Well, aside from Sage."

"Maybe that, too."

"What?"

Charlotte shrugged. She started walking over to a hallway. "All of us will start heading west, and you guys can head east."

000

The W's were the next team to enter the fortress.

"Alright, everyone! Listen up!" Holt exclaimed. He moved further into the building, getting everyone's attention. "We're all gonna split up and search for this monster. And then we'll beat the ugly mug to ground and take it's stupid gem!"

"Ermm..." Vontell droned. "Wouldn't it be best if we all stuck together? I mean, if we're by ourselves, we most definitely wouldn't be able to fend for ourselves."

Instead of yelling like Holt usually does, he leaned in super close into the Vanillite's face. "...Are you questioning my authority?" he antagonized.

Vontell floated backwards, holding his camera as far from Holt as possible. "N-No! I'm questioning your objectivity, Holt!"

"_You are out of line_."

Vontell looked down dejectedly. "I'm...sorry."

"No, don't be sorry." Arlo started, smirking. "Too much power can go to Holt's head, _that's it!_" He had an unusually cheery tone to his voice.

Cameron pinched the space between his eyebrows, breathing out an annoyed sigh. "I know I only said one challenge, but _really_?"

Holt rolled his eyes. "Please, you only told _me_ that. Arlo is the one talking back, not me." He blew air out through his nostrils as if it was supposed to mean something. As if it would make Cameron suddenly realize he was wrong the whole time.

"Why did I have to get stuck on a team with you two? God!"

Viola watched on with a stern glare. "Guys-"

"Maybe things wouldn't be so hard if Arlo didn't like to torture others for entertainment." Holt accused.

"Honestly, I have no idea why you're surprised! You should know how I act by now!" Arlo shouted.

"GUYS!" Viola yelled, getting their attention. The sudden outburst caused Holt to fall over.

Arlo only glared at Viola in response to that. "What do _you_ want?"

"If you haven't noticed, most of the team has _already_ left." The Amaura pointed out. Her tone was very condescending. "It's because of your petty arguments that we don't even have a solid plan."

"Hey, it's not my fault, lady!" Holt responded, still sitting down.

"Right..." she said. "I'm not going to let our team lose because of this..." She began to walk away.

As she rounded a corner, Holt groaned.

Cameron huffed. "God I can't take any more of this!" He glared at Arlo and Holt. "You two need to learn to get along!"

Holt growled, standing up. "Are you telling me what to do?"

"Oh, yeah, 'cause that's the only thing that matters." Cameron put on a serious look. "This bullcrap ends now!"

"Look, Cameron. Despite what you may think I am. A dashingly handsome, smart, nice Honchkrow. I still lead this team."

Cameron walked up to Holt, raised his hand, and-

-000-

Cameron, Holt, and Arlo entered the second wing of the fortress.

Holt rubbed his cheek, still feeling a tinging pain. "Was that really necessary?"

Cameron closed his eyes, nodding. "That felt good."

With a heavy sigh, Arlo loosened his shoulders. "So, what-what are you gonna do? Council us?

"Yep."

As the three continued to walk down the long corridor, Cameron began to interrogate the other two.

"Okay, Arlo, why do you not like Holt?"

Holt glared hard at Arlo, expecting a rude response.

"Ugh... Cameron, totally trying to be rude here, but can we _not_ do this?"

Holt gasped theatrically with the intentions of annoying Arlo. "Hold on, Arlo NOT trying to be rude?"

Cameron silenced the Honchkrow with a look. He turned to Arlo with the same look in his eyes. "What do you mean?! I'm trying to do _everyone_ a favor - before this escalates any further!" He shook his head, reiterating his sentence. "Before the two of _you_ escalate any further!"

Arlo's eyes widened at Cameron's words. He let out a low growl, his whole demeanor suddenly changing. "There's obviously no time to have an argument! We have a challenge to do!" He brushed past Cameron, heading deeper down the hall, farther away from the light Cameron's tail was emitting.

Cameron grumbled. "Get back here!"

Arlo ignored Cameron's incessant requests; his figure being swallowed up by the darkness.

"Of course," said Holt. "He runs away - what a surprise!"

Cameron groaned, storming after the Aipom. Caught off guard, Holt ran after him, shouting.

000

The footsteps of the girls (and Sage) from Charlotte's team echoed, imitating a low rumble.

Charlotte was the first to speak up. "I hope we find the monster. I don't trust those three to beat it."

"Then why did you put them together if they're supposedly the 'strongest members of our team'?'" questioned Jordan.

"There's only _three_ of them. I doubt they'd actually make it very far."

"Yeah, but _why_?"

"Because _I_ have an idea!" She spun around to face her teammates. "How about all of us in one gigantic alliance! We all have at least one thing in common."

"Hey!" shouted Sage.

"Well, most of us, anyway..."

The others glanced at each other, considering the offer.

"I dunno..." said April. "I'd feel kinda bad going behind Travis and Loki's back to vote for them..."

"But you're fine with eliminating Zenith?" asked Charlotte.

April shrugged. "I don't really know if he's a good guy or not..."

Paige stepped forward. "After we have three eliminations, though, what would we do? There'd be no one else to target."

"Are you guys really willing to eliminate three actually helpful teammates over a child and two annoying rivals?" asked Vanessa.

Charlotte growled. Most of them were already starting to disagree and Vanessa's comment wasn't helping. "Whatever, we can just...disband it after we get rid of them."

Jordan shook her head. "I still think this is a bad idea."

"Why?! We literally have everything to gain by working together!"

Sage jumped in between them, smiling nervously. "Come on, guys! Don't argue! Friendship, love, happiness!"

Jordan looked at Sage surprised. "Oh, Sage! I almost forgot you were here."

"Th-That's okay! Just think about family, and honesty!"

Just as Charlotte was about to continue arguing, she suddenly halted. "...It's a dead-end."

"...Huh?" Sage slowed down too, stopping next to her.

In front of them was a giant stone wall, hindering them from moving any further. This would have made sense if there was at least one doorway leading out of it; but it was just one _long_ corridor with no other exits or entrances than the one they went through.

Nemeia walked up to the wall, the Persian putting her paws up to it and glancing at the ceiling. "Why don't we just climb up there?"

Where Nemeia was standing, the ceiling was noticeably taller than every other part of the hallway. After about ten feet, the ceiling stopped, a hole in the wall indicating a new path.

Charlotte took a few steps back, trying to see the hallway. "Oh...wow..."

"Yup." Jordan walked next to her, an unimpressed look on her face.

Charlotte shook her head, reassuring herself. "Alright, let's get this stupid challenge over with so we can neuter Victini."

"Agreed."

_As the team scaled the wall, Charlotte kicked a few rocks into Jordan's face, causing Jordan to send a glare her way._

_Moving over to a floor covered in spikes, Jordan put Sage on her head and jumped to the other side, slowly gliding on her way down. She put Sage down, looking at Charlotte with a sneer._

The two of them continued to banter back and forth, attempting to be subtle. The others quickly noticed, however, and quickly grew annoyed.

"Okay."

"I hope that's not the attitude you'll have during _battle_." Jordan stared Charlotte down.

"Okay."

"Stop saying, 'okay'!"

"Okay."

Paige took in a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Okay, you guys can _stop_ fighting now!"

Octavia placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, no... Let it happen; this is perfect."

Paige brushed off Octavia's hand, hopping forward. She was surprised to see that the two of them had stopped and were staring at her.

"Hold on... You guys are actually listening to me?"

They both nodded.

"Well, while you're still listening, I just wanted to tell you that _I_ should be the new team leader and-"

"No."

Paige slumped over. "It was worth a try..."

000

Travis let out a heavy groan, deep enough for Loki and Zenith to feel the air vibrating. "Uuuuggh... This challenge soooo boring! We're literally doing nothing but walking and I HATE walking!"

Loki took this as an opportunity and pulled the backpack he had brought with him out, grabbing a...toy microphone from inside?

He switched on the microphone, and a cheery song began playing. Pushing his back against Travis', he sang, "We might as well fight some monsters. So why don't we train our bodies? Even if you're not in the mood and your body's made of wo-od!"

Zenith narrowed his eyes in confusion before facepalming.

Seeing this, Loki frowned and switched off the music. "What? It was..._good_?" He wasn't so sure himself.

Zenith only tilted his head.

Loki placed his 'hands' on his hips. "Zenith, you're killin' me."

Zenith shrugged, saying, "Your voice is good, but..._why_?"

"Just trying to lighten the mood..."

"It didn't need lightening, but thanks anyway." The Golisopod gives a faint smile, punching Loki in the shoulder.

Loki smiled again, wrapping his arm around Zenith's shoulder. "Thoinks!"

He pulled the Golisopod closer, causing Zenith to look in the opposite direction, not yet comfortable with Loki's carefree personality. While his size and demeanor were intimidating, Loki's eyes were warm and inviting to Zenith.

Realizing how nervous he must have looked, Zenith nodded, slowly pulling away from Loki. "...Yeah..."

Loki grinned, allowing Zenith to leave his grasp, arms dropping down.

As they continued walking through the fortress, doing nothing but looking around, Travis let out a yawn and stretched his arms. "It's so cold in here; getting..._drowsy_..."

Zenith mimicked Travis' body language, rubbing eyes. "Oh, you get used to it; I'm tired _all_ the time,"

This piqued Loki's curiosity. "...What do you mean? Insomnia?"

"Err...perhaps?" Zenith shrugged, not really sure what to make of it. "I think I only get eight hours of sleep a week, _if_ I'm lucky."

Only then did Loki notice the bags under Zenith's gray eyes. He felt stupid for not noticing sooner, lightly punching himself in the head as some sort of punishment.

"What was that?" Zenith stared at Loki in confusion.

"N-Nothing!"

In a passive-aggressive tone directed to no one in particular, Travis said, "I would say: 'we should get a move on', but honestly, I can't another step without wanting to pound my head against the wall."

Loki gave Travis a light push forward. "Hey, the faster we find the bad guy, the sooner we get out of here."

"Hahh... You're right..."

As Travis disappeared around a stone corner, Zenith began to follow. Before the Golisopod could get far, however, Loki placed a 'hand' on his shoulder. "Hold on a moment, Zenith. Are you okay?"

Zenith turned around, confused. "_What_?"

"You don't seem very..."

Zenith cut him off with a distant chuckle. "Very what? I can assure you I'm feeling fine, Loki."

"Very..." Loki raised his head in thought. "I don't know... It just seems like something's bothering you."

Zenith folded his arms, completely turning the rest of his body. "Well, even if there was something bothering me- which there _isn't_\- I don't exactly think it's your place to pry." His demeanor quickly shifted from tired to intimidating.

"S-Sorry, you're right, you're right!"

And just like that, Zenith returned to normal. He smiled softly, turning back around. "I know I am!" He quickly trailed after Travis, not wanting to fall behind.

...

"(Maybe I was just looking a bit too far into it...)" Loki tried to convince himself that Zenith wasn't lying, but he just had this feeling...

000

The Slummers entered the fortress with ease. Closing the door behind himself, Calvin smiled. "We should be able to find the boss fairly quick if we all split up."

Marshall thought for a moment, looking over to the Cyndaquil. "...You're not wrong." He glanced around the area before making a final decision. "Alright, you guys can split up however you want. If you can handle yourself, you can go by yourself. If you need a friend to help you, bring them along."

He turned around, heading off into a random direction.

"Hey, Kyle, let's look over there." Emily suggested, pointing to a corridor.

"Okay." The Sobble gave his typical laconic response, showing a severe lack of interest in the challenge.

Lily quickly rushed up to Emily, grabbing her arm. "A-Actually, I kind of need to borrow you for something."

Lily dragged Emily away, also taking Ann with her.

Seeing this, Kyle sighed, lethargically turning to the rest of his teammates.

"We can go together!" Pax smiled. He walked up to Kyle, picking him up placing him on Pax's shoulder.

"Uhh... Okay." Kyle monotoned. He felt uncomfortable by sudden physical contact and kept on staring at the wall.

000

The Overgrown Brambles filed into a large, grandiose room that resembled a library.

Bookshelves lined the room in various locations, wooden, decaying tables decorating parts in between. In the far back, center, two pillars accompanied a marble staircase that led up to a dead-end. The dead-end only having a few metal cabinet files up against the wall.

There were no windows, so no light came in either. The only light source came the lit brass oil lamps decorating the walls.

"Ooh, a library?" cooed Gemmi. "There might be some interesting stuff here."

"We're not here to _read_." Zero responded, the Salandit eyeing her with an annoyed expression.

Despite what the Salandit said, Gemmi slithered over to one of the bookshelves and slid out a green book.

Zero face palmed. "Alright, then." he turned to Winthrop. "Hey, Squirtle, what Pokémon are we lookin' for again? If we're gonna check out a few of the books, we might as well read up on the species."

Winthrop held the pad up to his face, searching for the correct information.

Kip cleared his throat. "He has a name." His eyes flashed as he stared down Zero.

Zero rolled his eyes, walking over to another bookshelf. "What? Don't want me getting all _nicey-nice_ with your boyfriend?"

Narrowing his eyes at Zero, Kip stalked up to the Salandit, grabbed his arm and started pulling him away from the team while they were preoccupied with Winthrop's announcement.

"Why do we need to read books when we have all the info we need right on the pad?" he heard but decided to ignore it.

Zero ripped his arm away from Kip's grasp as they moved behind a bookshelf. "Hey! What's your problem?! The team is gonna fall apart without me!"

Turning his attention to a near bookshelf, Kip began to speak. His voice was low and shrill; Zero felt scared. "What you said about...me and...Winthrop..."

Zero reeled, looking towards the ceiling. "Is that really what you dragged me over here for? Come on, Kip!"

A book slid out of the shelf in Kip's grasp. He looked it over, eyes clouded with vexation. "Just...don't get the wrong idea, okay?" he sharply answered. "Would you do that for me?"

Zero faltered. He started to feel a little pang of guilt. Kip was getting so worked up about this. Maybe it was a touchy subject? Zero quickly pushed this feeling aside, however, and glared at Kip. "What? Don't assume that you and that Squirtle have a stable relationship? Stop assuming that you guys care about each other? No! Stop overreacting!"

"So, you _don't_ agree? Okay..." Kip sighed, twirling his mustache. He turned away, walking back to the team.

Zero watched as the Kadabra spoke to Winthrop with an 'are you kidding me?' expression. Groaning he looked away, drifting his gaze to a mirror on the wall.

He shifted his body to directly face the mirror and held an apathetic gaze. The Salandit walked on his back two feet instead of all fours, like most Salandits. It just made him feel more...normal.

...

**Click**

...

That's right..._normal_.

...

"AY!"

Feeling a sudden touch on his shoulders, Zero felt his stomach drop. He didn't physically jump or make any noise, though.

"Uhh...Zero?"

Zero blinked rapidly in confusion, still staring into the mirror. "What?"

"It's me... Max."

...

"No," Zero replied. "Not you. I...thought I saw something in the mirror."

"Like what?"

...

"Err..." Zero blinked again. He didn't know what he saw.

"Right..." Max gave him a weird look. "Well, I'm...gonna go back to the team now... Bye."

Zero didn't respond.

000

Grover pulled a red book from the shelf, causing a puff of dust to blow in his face. Coughing, he took a glance at the cover.

_The History of Wascerio_

He rolled his eyes. Did this library really have anything useful to offer? "There's nothing about Nidokings in here! There's no point in looking!"

Drew stepped up beside him, taking the book from his hands. He looked it over, tilted his head at the name. "_The History of Wascerio_? What is that?"

Grover shrugged. "Some place, I'm guessing. But-But that doesn't even matter, we should be searching for the monster guy!"

Being taller, Drew put his claws on Grover's head, scratching it. "We'll be fine, cutie pie!"

Grover blushed, pushing Drew's claws off of himself. "Cutie pie?!"

Drew smiled, holding the book in between his arm. "Yes, you're very cute when your angry."

No sooner had Drew said that was Grover grumbling on reflex. "Are-Are you flirting with me?!" He shot Drew a look, but the Noivern giggled to himself all the same.

"Nope! Just a compliment! I'm sure you've heard plenty of those." Drew booped Grover on the nose. "Well, while you keep looking, I'll be studying up on Wascerio! Judging from the pictures in this book, it looks like this island." He walked away towards one of the tables and took a seat.

"Hey- No- I-" Grover gave up, sighing. "(Wascerio has _nothing_ to do with Nidokings!)"

Max walked up behind him, an unsure look on her face. "...I think he likes you, dude."

"And I think...you need to SHUT up!"

000

Grover exerted a groan, slamming his head onto a wooden table. "Why are we even reading? This was _Zero's _idea!" Lifting his head up, he turned his head to Winthrop. "Where's the monster right now? I think I'll just take them on myself!"

Winthrop stuttered. "U-Uh... I don't think fighting the monster by yourself would be...the _best_ course of action."

Grover reached cover the table, snatching the tablet from Winthrop. "Hey!"

Ignoring Winthrop's cries, Grover fiddled with the device, checking the Pokémon's location. With a low gasp, he glanced over the to the library's doors.

Winthrop placed a hand on his (own) face. "...Grover, what is it?"

Grover covered Winthrop's mouth. "ShhhuUSH!"

Out of fear, the Squirtle complied, standing completely still.

The others, however, didn't hear Grover's verbal shush.

Kip walked from behind a bookshelf, carrying a stack of three books. Upon spotting Winthrop and Grover, he narrowed his eyes, walking over to the two of them.

As he got close, though, he stopped in place, turning his attention to the library's doors as well. He detected a presence from beyond.

Lightly placing the books on the table, he mumbled, "...What on Earth?" He placed a 'hand' on Winthrop's shoulder, bringing him down to his seat. "What's going on?" he whispered.

Winthrop shrugged, just as clueless as Kip.

Grover stared intently at the tablet, hoping that the presence behind the doors would walk away.

"..."

A low rumble resounded through the room.

"!"

What happened next could only be described as a sonic boom. The doors slammed open, hard enough to send a wave of wind to blow throughout the room.

The book's pages that Drew was reading flipped rapidly with the wind.

A Nidoking stepped into the room, each step making a _boom_ sound. He sported a wide, almost condescending grin.

He cackled comically, scanning the room. "_Well, well, well! Let's took a look at the menagerie!_"

He stomped over to the nearest Pokémon, bending over to grab them. His actions, his voice... Everything about him mimicked a cartoon villain.

"Oh! You must be Zero! You must be Grover! And Victini's favorite competitor..." The Nidoking glared at Drew fiercely, causing Drew to squeak.

Grover gave him a concerned look. "Did you just-"

"Unhand me you...!" Zero hissed, scratching at the large build. The Nidoking laughed it off, using Seismic Toss on the Salandit.

Upon contact with a bookshelf, a puff of smoke appeared, taking Zero with it. Like a magic trick, he was gone.

Grover jumped in shock, stumbling out off of his chair.

"Heh, I knew you guys were gonna be weak when Victini told me you were teenagers, but _seriously_?" As the Nidoking continued to chastise the competitors, Jared, Grover, Drew, Kip, and Winthrop escaped to 'safety' behind a bookshelf.

"The fuck do we do!?" Grover asked frantically. "He's gonna _kill_ us!"

Jared had tripped in front of the bookshelf. As he pushed himself up, he glared at Grover. Panting, he said, "...I appreciate your enthusiasm, _Grover_!"

Grover threw his hands up. "Wha-... WHAT ARE YOU GETTIN' MAD AT ME FOR?!"

"I mean, this _was_ your fault..." He dusted himself off as he stood back up.

"I didn't _do_ anything!"

A powerful force slammed into the bookshelf, causing it to teeter dangerously in place.

Drew got in front of Jared. "Dude, calm down! He didn't do anything!" He placed his claws on the Zangoose shoulders. "We're supposed to be working together."

Jared stepped back, glaring at Drew. "_Fine..._"

Another large force hit the bookshelf, this time, causing it to topple over.

Kip's eyes widened. His hand glowed a bright pink, and he pushed all of his teammates aside, dashing out of the way as well.

"Everyone, we mustn't stay here!" Kip shouted. He had to yell over the booming roars of the Nidoking as it continued to violently toss his team members.

It was clear they weren't listening. Either that or they just chose to ignore Kip.

A table flew past Kip and the other four.

"_LISTEN TO ME_!" His voice sounded more afraid than angry.

Winthrop spun around, his eyes wavering between worry and fear. "...Kip?"

Kip placed an iron grip on Winthrop's hand. "Let's go! You're coming with me, even if I have to drag you!"

"But what about-"

"It's improbable that they'll listen to me. We need to leave while we have the chance!"

Winthrop still needed time to process this. Everything was happening so quickly. "O-Okay...!" he croaked. The words were out of his mouth before he realized it.

-000-

With his back against the wall, Drew slumped down onto the ground.

"Hey, what are you doing?! We can still win this!" Grover shouted.

Drew sighed, looking away. "Forget it, Grover. All of our other team members are already gone! We can't do anything. We...lost."

Grover faltered in place, staring intently at Drew. "Are... Are you fucking kidding me? One moment you're full of energy and trying to bang me and now you're acting like a little _bitch_!" He was trying his best to provoke the Noivern.

Drew glanced away, Jared's words replaying in his mind. Grover really wasn't helping his case. "(He's a good guy... I know it...)" He kept his eyes glued to the ground as he spoke. "Do you... Do you really think it helps me for you to say that?"

Grover shook his head. "Come on, Drew! We have to find the-" He reached out a 'hand', but Drew began to scoot away. Grover's eyes widened as he took a step back. "You-..."

He glanced over to the busted open doors. "(Should I just leave by myself...?)"

After another stretched out moment of silence, Grover repositioned himself in front of Drew.

"Look, pup..." Grover winced at the use of a nickname. Drew's fluffy ears twitched a bit, but the Noivern knew better than to speak right now. "We don't have enough time to be mulling over how much of an ass I am. We have to find that Nidoking and kick its butt!" He slammed a fist into his 'hand' for better effect.

Extending a 'hand' to Drew, Grover asked, "Come on, pup. W-Won't you share this victory with me?"

The Snubble wanted to apologize. He really did. But now wasn't the time. He had to do something to ensure they wouldn't be up for elimination.

Drew smiled, a bit of sadness still in his eyes. He took Grover's 'hand', almost pulling him down in the process due to the size difference. "...Victory buds?"

"Victory buds." Grover pulled him into an awkward hug. "(Though I have no idea what the hell that's supposed to mean.)"

000

After Phoenix and Brazier broke off from their team, the two of them managed to get decently far in. Whether that was good thing was still up for debate.

So far, there were no signs or traces that their opponent had even gone that deep into the fortress.

Phoenix goofily stared at Brazier as he quickly scanned the room they had just entered.

"Hey, Phoenix?"

"Mm?" And just like that, the Pikachu seemed to be snapped out of a trance.

"How _big_ do you think this guy is? I just- I just assumed that since Mew referred to them as a monster, they'd be super huge and stuff, but..." Brazier let his words hang in the air for a bit.

"Who knows? They might just another normal Pokémon like us."

"_Or_ they might be a legendary! Phoenix, we should probably start being a little more cautious before we just..._waltz_ into some random room."

"Calm yourself, my child." Phoenix's attempt at making Brazier relax fell flat, as Brazier didn't have a reaction. "This is just a challenge. You don't need to worry."

"But what if we lo-"

Phoenix put a finger up to Brazier's mouth. "Shhh... If we _did_ lose, I'm pretty sure we'd both be safe."

Brazier narrowed his eyes in worry. "...You can't guarantee that. You have no idea what the others are planning on doing."

Now it was Phoenix's turn to narrow his eyes. "Brazier, no one on our tram would want to vote for us! And even if they did, it's very unlikely they'd get the whole team on their side."

"Ugh... You're right..."

"See? Everything's fine! Glad we got that cleared up."

"Then...what do you wanna do now?"

"Uh, you know we can still keep looking, right?"

"Then why did you tell me all that stuff?!"

"I was just telling you to not stress over it so much. There's only so much you can do as a Bulbasaur."

Brazier grumbled, finding himself agreeing with Phoenix once again. "...Oh, fine. You win."

He turned away from the Pikachu, redirecting his attention to a 'painting' hung on the wall.

It was certainly odd, and that's what kept Brazier staring.

It _wasn't_ anything. Just a blank canvas.

As Brazier gazed further into the 'painting', he noticed something right in the center.

A very small black dot, almost too small to see.

_Brazier stood in front of Phoenix, who was laying on the floor. Due to Brazier's position, you couldn't see either of their expressions._

Brazier let out a gasp, as if he had been deprived of oxygen for months.

"Brazier!" Phoenix was quick to rush to his side.

"I, um..." Brazier was shivering, eyes like someone who had just awoken from a nightmare. "I'm... I..."

"Are you okay?! What happened?!"

Brazier glanced away. "...Hey, Phoenix?"

"What is it? Do you need somethi-"

"After this is over- the challenge I mean- can we...hang out? The five of us?"

Phoenix solemnly looked at him, the corners of his mouth tightening. "...Brazier... I would love to, but...you know what I said about Cameron."

"I _don't_ care!" Brazier twirled around, enveloping Phoenix in a tight hug. "I just want us all to be friends again! I don't care if we have to drag Cameron along! I just... I just..." His eyes began to water.

Phoenix blushed, lightly hugging Brazier back. He sniffled, his eyes also watering. "...I missed you."

Brazier nodded, tightening his grip. He didn't need to say anything else; Phoenix understood.

"...Alright..." said Phoenix. "Me, you, Winthrop, Vontell, and...Cameron. Doing...what?"

"...Anything."

"How...does a movie sound?"

"...It sounds wonderful."

000

The three Pokémon on the screen occasionally are having a conversation!

"Okay, I don't wanna be rude, but _really_?" asked Emily. "An _alliance_?"

"Yes, an alliance." responded Lily. "We won't do anything bad. Are you guys in, or not?"

Ann hummed. "Sure, why not."

Emily crossed her arms, still a bit skeptical. "I don't know... What's in it for me?"

"I have boobs!" Lily cheered, leaning forward.

"I _just_ remembered."

-000-

Lily, her friend, **and Ann **continued their stroll through the building, searching for their foe.

Ann looked around the hallway. "You know, this place isn't so bad if you ignore the lack of light...and the depressing atmosphere...and the dead plants...and the crumbling walls...and rotting furniture...and the creepy sounds...and the grotesque amount of dru-"

"Hey, is that Suhrenaughtee?" Emily pointed to a white and orange bunny in the distance. They quickly entered a room, disappearing from sight.

"Serenity?" Lily tapped her chin. "I think so... Hey, why don't we ask her to come along? We could really use an extra person if we do encounter the monster!"

"No!"

"Yes? Okay, let's go!"

-000-

Walking into the room, the three immediately spot Serenity.

Serenity turns around. "Huh? Oh, hey, guys."

"DIE, SERENITY!" shouted Emily.

Lily waved. "Hey,"

"What are you doing in here?"

"We saw you not too far away and wanted to ask if you'd like to join us."

Serenity smiled. "Really? Thanks! I really-"

"Oh look. Something more interesting." Emily walked over to a wooden desk that a complete mess. There were papers scattered about, with various writing utensils laying around. To (literally) top it all off, there was a giant porcelain clam shell. It was red and glowed lightly from the cracks.

Willing to do anything to keep attention from Serenity, she said, "Let's see how we open this thing up..."

Ann hopped over in worry "Oh, I don't think we should be touching-"

Forming fists with her hands, Emily hit the oversized shell with very little force. As a result, it started glowing even brighter, and began hovering.

A cheery voice came from within. "Please identify yourself." It sounded like a male.

The shell hovered above Emily's head over to Lily, Ann, and Serenity.

Lily glanced to the others, confused. "...Lily?"

"Greetings, Lily. Please give me a name."

"What do I say?" Lily leaned down, whispering.

After getting a few shrugs, and a few seconds of silence, the voice spoke up.

"A random name has been selected." it said. "I...am Elax."

Suddenly, the shell was enveloped completely by the red light, emitting a sharp sound.

"I think I broke it!" shouted Emily.

The shell faded away to reveal...a Beedrill? No...a mechanical Beedrill.

Serenity's mouth was agape. "Oh my god! _Gilliam_?!" She addressed the 'Beedrill', as if she knew it, but it simply brushed her off, turning to Lily.

It bowed. "How do you do, my Gardevoir? I am your new servant."

Lily froze, looking around nervously. "Uh... _Hi_..."

Serenity looked shocked. "Gilliam...?" Her eyes began to water.

Emily jumped in front of her, shouting, "Well, looks like it was nothing important, let's keep moving!"

-000-

"Man, it feels like we've been walking for, like...ten days!" Ann complained.

Serenity gave her a look, raising a brow. "It's only been like...thirty minutes."

Lily was walking backwards, facing Elax, who had been following her this whole time. "Oh, I'm sorry. I couldn't hear you over MY _NEW_ SERVANT! Not YOURS! _MINE_!"

"Aww..." moaned Emily, hunched over. "I wish I could have gotten a slave."

"WELL, YOU DIDN'T! I _DID_! ME! _MEEEEE_!"

Ann looked at Elax thoughtfully. "Hey, since your new servant is a robot and stuff, and he came from _this_ building, why don't we ask him if he knows where the monster is?"

"It isn't just _a_ robot, Ann. It's _my_ robot. And okay."

-000-

Lily and Serenity walked into a large, empty room, seeing a single Pokémon in the center. Serenity quickly got into a fighting stance.

"Wow, Slave Labor was right!" cheered Lily. "Good job _me_, for asking Slave Labor to tell us where the monster was." She lightly patted her own chest as some form of congratulations.

"...Slave Labor?" deadpanned Serenity.

Lily nodded in delight. "It's his new name! Too bad Emily and Ann randomly disappeared before they could hear it."

The Pokémon in the center, a Kommo-o, roared loudly, its red eyes glinting in the darkness. It gave off an intimidating feeling, but Serenity didn't falter.

Seeing this, she smirked deviously. She shoved Lily out the door, Elax following her. "Get lost!"

She glared at the Kommo-o. "Battle?!"

"Battle!" It roared back.

"_Battle_!"

-000-

Serenity stood atop an unconscious Kommo-o, smirking with triumph. It looked like the Kommo-o had been crushed by a thousand tons!

Serenity pried the gem from the Kommo-o claws, grinning at it evilly. Hopping down from the body, she tossed the gem on the ground, placing a foot on it. "I won't be needing _this_!" She pushed down with immense pressure, quickly cracking the green gem.

Seeing how quickly it shattered, Serenity assumed that it was fake; but in the end, it didn't matter. Serenity had done everything she wanted to.

She giggled, holding a paw over her mouth.

000

Brazier leaned on the wall beside the room for a couple of minutes. Just as he was about to shut his eyes and sit down, he heard violent coughing come from inside.

"A-Aaah!" With no hesitation, Brazier dashed into the room, worried about Phoenix.

-000-

"**PHOENIX**!"

I rushed over to Phoenix's limp body. Taking the Pikachu into my hands, I cry, "PHOENIX, PLEASE RESPOND!"

When I placed a hand on him, however...

...All I felt was _**cold death**_.

000

**"And The Heart of the Game secures their safety!"** Mew announced.

Grover dashed over to a stone corner, peeking around it. "Ya hear that?!" he whispered.

Drew nodded, whispering back, "Loud and clear!" He ran flew over to the same corner.

Just on the other side of the wall, the Nidoking was thoroughly searching for Winthrop and Kip. After the two of them ran out, he finished his business with the last contestant he could find and trailed them.

"We gotta catch him by surprise." Grover suggested.

Drew grinned to himself, placing a wing on Grover's shoulder. "I think I have an idea..."

-000-

As Travis gave the gem to Mew, Zenith lightly tugged on Loki's arm.

"Hey..."

Loki beared a broad smile. "What's up? You doing okay?"

"I'm fine, but..." Zenith looked away, still holding onto Loki.

"But what?"

"...Uhhh... Nothing."

Loki tilted his head. "You called me for nothing?"

"Well, no... I just... I just feel like I owe you an apology."

"...? For what? I don't recall you doing anything bad to me."

Zenith finally let go, shying away from the Chesnaught. "...I have no idea. I just feel bad for some reason. I feel like I did something to...offend you in some way."

Loki looked up in thought. "Mmm... Nope! Nothing comes to mind. You still can apologize to me though if it makes you feel better."

"Please?"

Loki nodded.

"I'm - _sorry _for..." Zenith paused, unsure whether he should finish his sentence or not. "...For lying to you...?"

"It's okay, buddy! I was never mad at you."

Zenith smiled; a little glad Loki decided to go along with it.

"Though, I am a little curious... What did you lie about?"

"UH-" Zenith took a step back.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. As long as it isn't something serious."

"Oh, thank god..."

000

Diancie was currently by herself. She was originally with Mack, Mist, and Nova earlier, but decided to leave them behind. It was mostly out of boredom.

Almost immediately after leaving them, she encountered the monster in one of the hallways. A Rhyhorn.

After spotting Diancie, it had a terrified look on its face. "W-Wait!" it stuttered. "Are you one of the people Victini said I would be fighting?! What the heck?! There's no way-!

Diancie rolled her eyes before proceeding to blast a pink beam in the Rhyhorn's direction, easily rendering it unconscious.

She hopped over to it, pulling the gem from its grip. "Wow... Really, Victini? _Pathetic_!"

She lazily hopped away, going back to the entrance.

000

Turning away from Mew, Drew threw his arms up, a big smile on his face. "Yeah! We won, we won, we won!"

Grover awkwardly stood by his side, giving him a confused look. "You-You don't have to repeat yourself."

"I should really thank you. We would have undoubtedly lost if you hadn't motivated me!"

"Seriously, pup, don't mention it."

"No, but-"

"I _said_ don't mention it!" Grover snarled.

Drew narrowed his eyes, unfazed. "Yeesh. Someone isn't very happy."

From the corner of his eye, Mew noticed something emerging from the W's path. It was Diancie, along with her a few of her teammates as well.

Almost immediately after spotting Mew, Diancie chucked the gem towards his direction. On reflex, Mew awkwardly held out his hands in an attempt to both cover his face and catch the projectile.

Victini quickly got in front of him, though, catching it. He sent Diancie a quick glare before handing it to Mew.

"Th-Thanks..." Mew quickly regained his composure. "Anyway..."

Without so much as an announcement, each contestant was teleported back to the beginning. Serenity quickly tossed the scythe she was holding to the side.

"Slummers, what happened out there? Your team was the first to beat the monster!

It seemed no one had any answers for his remark, only exchanging glances with one another. Most eyes were directed at Brazier, though, as he was heavily shivering in front of everyone.

"Really?" asked Mew. "Everyone has _nothing_ to say? _Nothing at all_?"

"We get it!" shouted Brazier. "We - _lost_! Can you just tell us what we have to do next?"

"Uhh..." Mew glances around uneasily. "Well, at nine o'clock I want the Slummers to meet be back by the docks. for the elimination ceremony. All of you have the rest of the day off, so...have fun?"

"W-Wuh-Wait a minute." Marshall began looking over the crowd, mentally counting his teammates. "Where's the Pikachu?"

"Oh, Phoenix?" asked Victini. "Yeah, he had to leave the show due to medical reasons."

"Medical reasons?"

"Mhm!"

"But... If he's gone, then we don't need to _have_ an elimination tonight, do we?"

"We MUST!"

Marshall silently stared at him. "...So, what you're trying to tell me is...my team is going to be down _three_ members before the first day is even over?"

"Pretty much. Sucks to be you guys."

Mew lightly smacked Victini's shoulder.

000

Brazier exerted a low growl as he walked back to his room. As he approached the door, he noticed something different about the nameplates.

Phoenix's nameplate was now blank. As if he was never really here...

Unable to hold himself back, the Bulbasaur slammed a fist into the door. "DAMMIT!" He felt a large aching PAIN afterwards, but he had no choice but to IGNORE it.

Walking inside, his glassy eyes drifted over to the television. Almost immediately, did the feelings start flooding in.

"(Phoenix wanted to spend the night and stay up with me, binge-watching videos...)" Brazier could only feel shitty. He couldn't even let Phoenix have that!

He felt a sudden burst of anger towards whoever hurt Phoenix. Whoever _**they**_ were, Brazier wanted to hear what they thought he was going to do to them. Because he wanted to do **much** worse...

With teary eyes, Brazier spoke to himself. "I need to talk to someone..."

Not a second passed before that person came to mind. "(Vontell!)"

Brazier was halfway out the door when another thought crossed his kind. A sudden wave of nausea overcame him. He was forced to grab the door frame to keep himself from collapsing.

** .**

...

...

_"Haahh... Haahh..."_

-000-

"Brazier, I understand how you feel, but...Phoenix isn't gone forever. He's going to be okay."

"I-I _know_ that, but you can't just expect me to be all happy after my best friend almost died!"

The Vanillite sighed, carefully making sure not to meet my eyes. "...I know..."

"Did, um..." I had a bit of a struggle letting mg friend's name escape my mouth. "_He_...tell you...what's going on between me and Cameron?"

The Vanillite gave me a curious, long side glance. "...No? What's up?"

I sigh. "I'll fill you in later..." I turned away from them, walking off.

"Wait!"

I stop.

"Where are you going?"

Swallowing a lump in my throat, I give them a fake smile. "Oh... I need to...find someone."

000

Calvin watched as Brazier punched the door to his room, the Cyndaquil growing more and more concerned.

Right before he left, Calvin decided to ask Victini about how Phoenix was hurt.

All he would reveal was that Phoenix was poisoned with a cleaning product. After prying a little further, Victini disclosed that Phoenix did _not_ do it himself, and it was someone from his team.

Calvin decided to write down the names of all of his team members, including himself. The best way to solve a mystery is by considering every possibility, no matter how outlandish they may seem, so writing his own name _was_ a must. Even if it _did_ seem highly unlikely.

He began to question all of his teammates first. Deciding to leave Brazier for a more...appropriate time.

-000-

Calvin sighed as he exited Pax and Kyle's room. He had just finished interviewing his teammates, except Brazier, about their whereabouts during the challenge.

Just as he suspected, he gained barely any useful information.

The only ones who were by themselves at one point were Marshall, Bryson, Cosmoem, Grayson, Serenity, and..._Robin_.

Out of everyone here, Robin was the one Calvin wanted to suspect the most. She's the only one nobody really knows anything about. But it was the most unlikely.

"(This would be a lot easier if I could just ask Phoenix himself...)"

Calvin decided that instead of focusing on **who did it**, he should focus on **how it happened**.

He apparently consumed some type of cleaning product.

"(I guess it's safe to ask Brazier now... He did leave with Phoenix, so it he _has_ to know something!)"

-000-

"Did you see him eat anything weird or see anyone give him something weird?"

Brazier avoided eye contact, staring at the ground. He held an irked expression. "Well, I was with him for almost the whole entire day. The only time I saw him eat or drink is when Ann made us all go to the cafeteria to 'get our energy up' or something..."

"What did he have?"

"I think just water..."

"Did he get it himself, or did someone give it to him?"

"...Ughhh... I don't know! I don't pay attention to stuff like that!"

"Look, Brazier. If you want me to help you find out who did this, you're going to need to tell me everything."

"..." Brazier stared at Calvin. "I-... I think Pax gave him a water bottle?"

"And that's it?"

"...Yeah..."

"Good. See? That wasn't so hard, wasn't it?"

Brazier glared at Calvin. "Back the fuck off."

Calvin complied out of fear, never expecting Brazier to...use that type of language.

He began to walk away, his mind drifting back to the investigation.

"(The only place you could really find cleaning products..._is the bathroom and the kitchen_!)"

-000-

Calvin hurried to the boys' bathroom first, seeing at it was the nearest.

He quickly found nothing amiss, however, as everything was as it should be.

Next was the girls' bathroom. As much as he didn't want to enter, he _had_ to do this.

Calvin took in a deep breath before entering. "(FOR JUSTICE!)"

-000-

As soon as he entered, he felt his foot become wet. He quickly raised his foot. "Ew..."

Switching the lights on, he looked around, his eyes settling on the mysterious liquid on the ground.

The liquid was clear, all over the ground, and its scent strongly resembled bleach. It was practically begging for Calvin to find it. No way could the culprit miss something _that_ obvious...right?

He noticed that the pool didn't just wasn't just restricted to the bathroom. There was a very small, almost unnoticeable stream leading out into the hallway.

The dried-up liquid continued through the hallway, right around the corner to the nearest contestant's room:

**Ann's**.

In fact, Ann's nameplate was the only one the door, so she had free reign to do whatever she wanted. Since there was an odd number of contestants and an odd number of girls, it only made sense, right?

Calvin felt like this was all the evidence he needed. Having no hands, Ann spilt the bleach all over the floor and was unable to clean it up without flooding the whole room.

She probably put some bleach in the water bottle and asked Pax to give it to Phoenix.

"(That's all there is to it! The culprit is Ann!)"

Calvin stepped away from Ann's door, ready to search for Brazier again.

From the camera's angle, Calvin moved out of the way of the room in front

Calvin stepped away from Ann's door, ready to search for Brazier again. From the camera's angle, Calvin moved out of the way of the room in front of Ann's.

**Lance** and Marshall's room.

...

000

Vanessa floated to Sage's room. She had been caller over by him earlier. She decided that whatever Sage was going to ask of her was going to be somewhat amusing, so why not?

When she arrived to his room...

"...What are those two doing here?"

In the middle of the room, Charlotte, Jordan, and Sage were sitting on the carpeted floor.

Sage immediately jump up, running over to Vanessa with a grin on his face. "You're here!"

"Really?" Charlotte kept her glare locked on the Luvdisc. "You chose _Vanessa_?

Jordan agreed. "She's literally the one who suggested that the others eliminate the three of us!" she pointed out.

"What's going on?" asked Vanessa.

Sage looked between the three of them before finally resting his eyes on Vanessa. "Well... Vanessa, I was hoping that _maybe...you'd wanna be in an alliance with us?_"

With barely any hesitancy, Vanessa answered, "Okay."

"R-Really?"

Charlotte's eyes widened. "You... You actually accepted?"

Vanessa glanced away. "I'm only here to watch you guys. Being in an alliance with you three is probably gonna be really entertaining." For the first time since she's gotten on the island, Vanessa had emotion in her voice. Her tone was a mix of condescension and amusement.

Sage warily stared at Vanessa. "Uhh, _cool_."

Still worried about Vanessa's last comment, Charlotte hesitantly shifted the topic. "So... Now that that's figured out... Who are we targeting?"

Sage gave her a look, folding his arms. "We're not doing that."

Charlotte huffed, knowing that with Sage as the 'leader', he wouldn't be making any 'evil' decisions.

"What's the point of this alliance then?"

Sage nervously laughed. "Uh... Hahah... We can..._figure_ something out..."

Vanessa smirked. She was already getting was she bargained for.

000

"I don't get this show, man!"

Calvin was currently watching T.V. in his room. On screen was a kids' show. The show depicted various baby Pokémon doing stupid _only_ to cry afterwards.

"W-Why did you lie to me?" whimpered an Elekid.

The Magby standing in front of the Elekid was bawling its eyes out. "I didn't want you to cry!"

On the bed beside Calvin's, Zevulun huffed, rolling his eyes. "Woah, _lying_! Didn't know that was wrong." Instead of simply lying in bed, Zevulun decided to preoccupy himself with carving a piece of wood. Despite most of his attention being focused on his work, he still listened in on the show. "Hey, why haven't you changed the channel yet? This is literal garbage. I could do _so_ much better!"

"I... I'm not sure... I feel like this is supposed to be important or something..." Calvin retracted a bit, unsure. "_B-Besides_," he stammered. "This is a show for babies! Did you really expect anything that great?"

"You tell me. _You're_ the one watching it..."

Calvin choked on air, not anticipating that response.

...

As more time passed and Zevulun became more invested in his carving, he groaned, pushing himself off of his bed. "Ugh! I hate being stuck inside for so long!"

Calvin looked down at his brown blanket, then at Zevulun. "...Then leave."

"...But-"

"But what? Just leave."

"I mean, it's...kind of dark outside; I wouldn't be able to see any-"

"Hurry, leave!"

"What?"

"Quick! Go, go, go!"

Hesitantly, Zevulun complied, walking over to door, his knife and carving still in hand. "Okay, okay!" He lazily opened the door.

"_RUN_!"

-000-

Zevulun jogged out into the hallway. He had a hunch that Calvin only suggested that so he wouldn't have to deal with him anymore, but Zevulun didn't care. He wanted to leave anyway.

-000-

As he exited the mansion, he glanced over to the moon, weighing his options. There was _just_ enough moonlight that maybe...

He walked throughout the island, searching for a clearing. As he walked past another patch of trees, he began to grow tired. It was quite relaxing to solely focus on the nature around him while walking around, but he felt the need to sit down somewhere so he could finally start working again.

Suddenly, the sound of violent rustling pulled him from his thoughts. He turned to the bushes. "Mmm...?"

His curiosity piqued, Zevulun combed through the bushes. In hindsight, he should have been a little more cautious about possibly confronting a wild Pokémon, but in the end, all Zevulun was greeted with was the back of a Salandit.

In front of the Salandit, the ground was covered with a thin brown mat covered with a thick black blanket. Beside his luggage, there was nothing else out of the ordinary.

"What are you doing?"

"Aaah!" Zero quickly twirled around to confront the sudden voice, a gasp escaping his mouth. "P-Please don't tell anyone about this!"

Zevulun quirked a brow, lazily lifting a paw. "..._What_?" He poked his head from behind Zero, taking another look at his belongings. "Are you camping or something?'

Zero slightly tilted his head before nodding with vigor. "Uh...yes! I'm camping! C-Can't get enough of the outdoors!" He swung his arm for effect.

Zevulun narrowed his eyes, staring deeply into Zero in silence.

Zero shook nervously. He felt as if Zevulun's eyes were indirectly shaking him down for a trace of dishonesty.

After what felt like an eternity, Zevulun said, "You're an awful liar."

"I-I- I'm..." Zero gulped, correcting his stance in an attempt to mask his fears. "I'm not lying."

"I sincerely doubt that." Zevulun persisted. "I'm _far_ from stupid."

In response, Zero pursed his lips, grumbling. Zevulun didn't back down, however, and continued to give Zero a sharp glare.

After a few seconds, Zero caved in, unable to stand the agonizing silence. "Fine..." He turned back to his 'campsite', unsure of whether his pride would allow him to admit the truth. He didn't see any cameras around, so... "My roommate...kind of...kicked me out... So now I have to...um..."

Zevulun scratched his cheek, narrowing his eyes. "Hm... Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Zero's body was tensed, expecting a much worse response. "Uhh..."

"Who's your roommate? _Can't imagine they're any better than me..._"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"Oh, well... My roommate its Grayson-"

"_Figures_..." Zevulun shook his head, looking about ready to punch something. "People who judge others based on their typings are troglodytes. Fuckin' cavemen who get off to wiping their ass with sandpaper."

"Uhh..." Zero shifted his eyes around. Zevulun's monotone voice only made him more uncomfortable. "I...don't know how you expect me to respond to that."

"I wasn't asking you to."

"Um, well... Could you not tell anyone about me staying here?"

With a shrug, Zevulun looked away. "I'll tell you what. How about you stay in my room for a little while until Grayson gets kicked off. His team is up for elimination, so he's probably leaving anyway."

Zero's eyes widened. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Really?"

"Yeah, you can use my bed or something. It's not like I'm going to be using it."

Zero jumped forward, pulling Zevulun into a tight embrace. "Thank you, thank you, thank you...!" He almost tackled the Pancham down with the amount of force he put into it. "But...why are you being so kind to me?"

"It's not a big deal. You'll only be there for a couple hours, maybe..."

"Well it's a big deal to me!"

"Whatever..." Zevulun rolled his eyes, pushing Zero off of himself. "Go gather your stuff and we'll go back to my room. I'll tell Calvin the situation and-"

"Um...actually... Could you not? I'd rather little people know about this as possible..."

"Why? It doesn't matter what Calvin thinks."

"...Do I have to tell you?"

"I mean, you don't _have_ to..."

Zero smiled, holding his hands together. "Then let's keep it that way." Turning away, he began to gather his things. "Uhh... Could you help me out a little?"

"Yeah, alright."

000

Idling in the second-floor hallway, Zenith has this weightless feeling. Perhaps it was how close the challenge was, but he wouldn't admit that out loud.

"(We got really got lucky...)" he thought. The results of the challenge were still in the back of his mind. "(I don't even think I did anything...)"

Without thinking, the Golisopod strolled over to the Gaming Room with nothing else to do. He didn't necessarily like video games, but that was because he never had the opportunity to play them.

Upon opening the door, Zenith's eyes were greeted with the sight of Loki sitting on the wooden floor. He was loosely gripping an Xbox controller in his hands, wearing a plain gray shirt. It was long, over-sized, and stretched over his shell.

Zenith's gaze immediately locked with Loki's. His bright, yellow eyes had an unusual effect on him. Zenith felt warm just staring at him, but when he broke away, he shuddered.

Zenith was the first to speak.

"Okay, why are you not only wearing a shirt, but just a shirt?" he queried, holding his arms together.

Loki quickly paused the game he was playing and set the controller aside. "Hey, these things are super comfy! This is my favorite one, too..." He grabbed the end of his shirt and tugged it over his legs. To follow that up, he poked his head into the shirt and retracted his arms, leaving his tail the only exposed part of his body.

Zenith broke into a nervous laughter. "...Uhmmhm... What are you doing...?" He sucked in a bit of air as he studied the Chesnaught. "I wouldn't know; I've worn clothes before..."

"Hold on - _what_?!" Loki exclaimed. He poked his head out and looked at Zenith in disbelief.

Without a second thought, he started to pull his shirt off, but that proved to be harder than it should have been, as it kept getting caught on his shell's spikes.

He finally ripped the shirt off and exclaimed, panting, "I have...a full wardrobe of these at home!" He bolted up to Zenith, shirt in his grip. "Wear this, you'll love it, I promise!"

Zenith sweat dropped. "(It's just a shirt...)" He backed away a little bit. "N-No thanks... I mean, you already wore it, and-and I don't wanna get it dirty-"

Loki shook the shirt in his claws, beckoning Zenith to take it. "No, I insist."

"Um... Isn't it your favorite shirt, though? I don't wanna take something special from you..."

Shaking his head vigorously, Loki reaffirmed, "I can get another one." He took Zenith's 'hand' and gently placed the shirt inside. "Take it."

"(Take it...?)" Zenith hesitantly nodded before unfolding it and holding it out in front of him.

He didn't notice before, but right in the center of the shirt was a small L, colored a light red, almost pink. "(...That's...oddly vague...)" It took him a moment for him to piece together that the L could stand for Loki.

Blinking, he took the shirt and pulled it over his 'head'. He struggled a little a bit, but eventually, with some effort, managed to put it on properly. He had to readjust it a little bit, but other than that, it was a perfect fit for him! If the shirt had been any smaller, it would have definitely ripped.

Zenith popped his 'arms' through the sides with some stretching. "I mean... it's a shirt, alright..." He sported a nervous grin.

Loki put a claw to his chin. "I didn't think this through..."

Zenith perked up. "Hm? What do you mean?"

Loki relaxed his shoulders and sighed. "You have more claws under the two large ones, right? Well, now it's just trapped in the shirt. It's gonna get pretty uncomfortable in there."

The Golisopod shook his head. "No... This is actually...kinda cozy..."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Good..." Loki's unsure countenance formed into one of happiness. "Well, I'm gonna go back to my game. You should join me!" he suggested, going back to sit down in his original spot.

Zenith bared a thoughtful look. He actually considered it. "...Why not?"

Loki patted the ground next to him, signaling Zenith to sit there.

Taking a seat on the shiny, polished floorboards, Zenith queried, "So...what's this game about? What's it called?"

Loki was quick to answer his question. "Oh, well, we're actually gonna play on the PS4, not the Xbox, so..." He held down a button on his controller, shutting off the console completely.

"(Then why did you have me sit down next to you?)" Zenith stood back up and took a moment to scan the room. "I'm gonna ask again. What's this game about? What's it called?" Zenith asked, accidentally putting a bit more hostility in his voice than he intended to. He walked in front of the PS4 and settled down.

Loki placed the controller next to the Xbox. "It's a really, really good game! It's called, Detroit: Become Human. The game is about-...well...uh, I'm bad at explaining things, so you'll just have to bear with me here."

Zenith nodded.

"Okay, so essentially, this game is about androids living in a world of humans. They were built to take and serve orders. Androids are treated like trash. They have people protesting the creation of androids, claiming they're taking their jobs, stuff like that, until one day...they began to rebel. The goal of the game is to start an android revolution and get the same rights as humans. Or well- that doesn't have to be your goal. You can do whatever."

"...Seems interesting enough..."

Loki smiled. "This is the type of game where your choices change how the game ends. So, if you pick one wrong choice, you might get a bad ending."

Taking in Loki's information, Zenith bent forward to grab one of the controller's placed in front of the console.

Sitting down, he looked at the controller. This was as far as his knowledge went. Up until this point, he's never played or watched someone play a video game before. All he knew was that he needed it.

He stared at the controller as if it was some foreign object. "Um... I've never...played a video game before... So, I don't know how to use this..." He was fiddling with the joysticks on the controller.

With widened eyes, Loki let out an animated gasp. "What? First you tell me you've never worn clothes before., and now you're telling me you've never play a video game before? That's awful!" Calming down, he sighed, disappointed. "S-Sorry... I'll just...teach you how to use it." The Chesnaught pointed to the left joystick. "This is for the camera, you move it around and it moves the camera with it,"

Grabbing Zenith's arm, Loki placed one of the Golisopod's claws back on the left joystick, having moved it away a couple seconds ago. "Look up at the T.V., see?"

-000-

It didn't take long, but Zenith had already mastered the controls. It wasn't very complicated. Loki was thorough, wanting to make sure Zenith understood everything.

Upon realizing this, the Golisopod grinned despite himself. That even after lying to him, Loki still wanted to help him out.

"Uh..." Zenith looked away from the screen temporarily.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for...doing this for me... I really appreciate it..."

Loki smiled even wider than before. "No problem-o!"

Suddenly, a loud tune was played from the speaker that was out in the hallway.

***Ding - dong - bing - bong***

**"Attention, Slummers, it is nine o'clock, I repeat, it is nine o'clock! Head to the beach, now!" Mew announced through the speaker. "As for everyone else: you can come watch if you want."**

The speaker crackled, indicating the end of the announcement.

Loki turned to Zenith. "Who do you think is gonna get eliminated?"

Zenith shrugged. "There's a lot unlikable Pokémon on their team, so it'd be hard to narrow the loser down."

"Oh... Okay..." Loki stood up, feeling the need to stretch. "Well, we should get going - to the elimination ceremony, I mean."

"Aw..." Zenith moaned.

"We can come back after, don't worry!"

000

While walking to the beach, Lily and her alliance decide on who to vote for.

"I say Brazier goes." suggested Ann.

The other two gave her a look.

"What?"

"First his best friend gets unfairly kicked off the show, and now you want to eliminate him?" asked Lily.

Emily folded her arms, shaking her head. "_Shameful!_"

"Have you two seen the way he's been acting since the challenge ended?"

"Yeah," said Lily. "But I don't wanna make it worse!"

"Then do you have any better ideas?"

"SERENITY!" shouted Emily.

"I have _one_ idea…" Lily smirked to herself.

000

In front of the docks, fourteen logs chopped to be seats were placed in two rows of seven. A campfire was lit in the space in between, the light stretching across both areas.

On the docks, torches were placed and lit on the sides, lined all the way up to the end. A small speedboat was waiting, ready to send someone home.

Beside the elimination area was the confessionals, temporarily placed there for the time being. Alongside the confessionals were metal bleachers, big enough to carry all of the contestants.

A few moments after the announcement, the competitors slowly entered the area. Some from The Slummers, others from different teams.

Seeing the whole set up, Bryson smiled. "Now this is start to feel a real summer camp!"

"I don't think that was intentional. We do live in a mansion after all." responded Kyle.

On top of the confessionals sat Mew, lazily crossing his legs. His head was pointed towards the sky, a blank expression on his face as his eyes scanned the stars.

Victini sat beside him, only a few feet separating the two of them.

"You know..." began Mew, eyes still glued to the varying shades of blue. "...I never realized how beautiful the sky looks during the night."

Victini slowly nodded, focusing only on Mew's face, and how the moonlight temporarily stained his fur a light silver.

Snapping him from his own thoughts, he felt something soft poke him in the back. He turned his head to see Mew's tail. "...?" It took a moment to realize how much closer he had inched himself towards the cat.

He gulped, turning his head away.

At this point, both the bleachers and logs were filled. Now the only contestants absent were Diancie and Mack.

"Hey! Get down here and host the _freakin'_ show!"

Victini jumped, glancing down to see Paige glaring at them. He turned to Mew to see that he was ignoring Paige, instead looking at him.

"...Are you sure you want me to host the first elimination?" Mew asked

Victini felt a lump in his throat, his heart beating faster. "Y-Yes..."

Mew smiled softly, tapping Victini's shoulder with his tail. "_Alright_... Wish me luck."

As Mew floated away, Victini smirked, shouting back, "You don't _need_ luck!"

-000-

"Welcome, everyone, to the first elimination ceremony!"

Each member of The Slummers had uncomfortable frowns on their faces. Serenity, Kyle, and Cosmoem were the only ones with a blank stare.

Without a second of hesitation, Grayson went off. "Couldn't we have done this earlier?! I should be sleeping now!"

Mew shrugged. "Hey, don't blame me. Victini's the one who-"

Victini quickly flew in front of Mew, cutting him off. "S-Sorry! It's just...we had to do it late because we had two completely separate challenges today." He went back to the confessionals. "Sorry again!"

Grayson rolled his eyes, clearly not satisfied. "Pfft... Whatever..."

"ANYWAY," Mew glared at Grayson before turning his attention back to the whole group. "Here's what's happening. Each of you will go into the confessionals and write down on a slip of paper the contestant you'd like to send packing. You put the paper in the box above the camera, and then you come back to your seat. A paper and pen will be provided. The contestant with the most votes will be forced to walk down the docks, board the boat, and ride home."

He turned to the confessionals. "We're going in alphabetical order, so Ann, you're up! Oh, and one more thing: tampering with the votes is not permitted! You will be promptly expelled from the game _and_ slapped."

As Ann hopped out of her seat, Lily shot her a look, making sure she was still on board with the plan. Ann nodded, giving her a smile.

-**000**-

**Ann had an indifferent expression. "I know this would be going against my alliance, but I genuinely think it would be better to have Brazier leave so he can meet back up with Phoenix. He seems to care a lot."**

**-000-**

**Brazier looked away from the camera, shaking, an unreadable look on his face. "Ann... You'll get what's coming to you..."**

**-000-**

**Pax tapped his chin. "I'm not sure who to vote for. I guess I'll go for Cosmoem or something. He's not really nice, and he's kind of just...there."**

**-000-**

"Okay, Robin is supposed to be next, but sense she isn't here..." Mew trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"Why don't you just teleport her here?" asked Serenity, aggression in her voice.

"Hey, I can't teleport something I've never seen before."

"What about the audition tapes?" suggested Calvin.

"Victini picked the contestants, not me; I haven't seen any audition tapes."

Cosmoem rolled his eyes, scoffing. "There you go... Placing the blame on Victini AGAIN!"

Mew gave him a look. "...What?"

"It hasn't even been five minutes!" Cosmoem declared in an exasperated tone. "Do you have any shame?"

"No, no, don't say anything to me!" He put a 'hand' up to the Cosmoem, closing his eyes. "Serenity, you're last. Go."

-000-

Victini impatiently stared at the confessionals roof, waiting for Serenity to leave. He slammed a fist onto the top, saying, "C'mon, Serenity! It shouldn't take you more than a minute to write on a piece of paper!"

"I'm going, I'm going!" She swung open the wooden door, mirroring Victini's tetchy expression. "It's just so hard to decide to vote for. They're _all_ pretty bad!"

"Just get back to your seat."

As Serenity stepped onto the dirt, Mew teleported the balsa box full of votes into his 'hands'.

He opened the lock, lifting the lid with a finger. "I have the votes. If I call your name, you have a vote. The person with the most votes will be forced to go back to the mansion get their luggage and ride this boat to wherever it takes you."

Bryson raised an eyebrow. "(Wherever it takes you?)"

"Now onto the votes..." Mew rummaged through the box, looking at the slips. Eventually, he took one out, reading the name.

Everyone exchanged nervous glances.

"One vote for Grayson-" Instead of reading the votes slowly and allowing everyone to process the information, he quickly one paper after another, catching everyone off guard. "-two votes for Grayson, one vote for Robin, one vote for Serenity, three votes for Grayson, one vote for Brazier..."

He paused, peering into the box. "Cosmoem, Ann, Cosmoem, Ann, Ann, Cosmoem..."

Ann froze, mouth agape.

Mew spoke as he closed the box, lowering himself to place it on the ground. "Well, there's one more vote left. Before I reveal the loser, let's take a _hard_ look at the bottom three."

...

"Cosmoem, well... It's pretty obvious why you're down here. Grayson you too." He placed a hand on his chin, rubbing it. "Ann, however,"

"Why am _I_ at the bottom?" questioned Ann, she looked around at her fellow teammates. "I-I thought you guys liked me."

Brazier took a breather, shutting his eyes. "...I'm STIFLED, Ann! How do still act normal and happy and all that crap when YOU almost ended Phoenix's life?!"

"Wha-... I didn't do _anything_!"

"Of course you did! _You're just...so...!_" His fists started shaking. He had to resist the urge to punch something again.

From the bleachers, the safe contestants watched this all unfold. Cameron, in specific, was...confused. He had never seen Brazier act this way before. He had never seen Brazier angry before.

Mew folded his arms, furrowing his brow in worry. "Regardless, this next vote decides who goes home."

"Just say it's Ann already!"

"Stop!"

Mew looked down, growing more and more uncomfortable. With a sigh, he said...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Ann, start heading back to the mansion. You're no longer competing."

A few gasps resounded throughout the area.

"I... I..." Ann sat in silence for a few seconds.

Victini yawned, smacking his lips. "Hurry up and grab your shit!"

With a sigh, Ann turned away, hopping towards the mansion.

"Well..." Mew started. He looked over at Victini, locking his gaze with his own. "That marks the end of the elimination ceremony. Feel free to see Ann off, or just go do whatever want... Your second challenge starts tomorrow."

With no comments, the contestants began to disperse. The footfalls against the bleachers and dirt only irritated Brazier more.

He got Ann eliminated, just like he had hoped for...so why wasn't he satisfied?

"...This is what you wanted, isn't it?"

Brazier's head shot up. Mew, Victini and all the others had left already.

In the only seat left empty - Phoenix's seat - a Petilil sat, calmly taking in the environment around her.

"Who are you?" Brazier's voice was full of hostility and had already crouched into a defensive stance.

"Who received what you wished for. Don't take it for granted."

Brazier only tilted his head, unable to make sense of the Petilil's words.

Before he could let out another confused response, the Petilil hopped out of Phoenix's seat, walking into the forest. Brazier felt tempted to go after her, but he decided against it.

Mew and Victini know everything that's happening on the island, so he could ask them, right?

...

000

Victini and Mew were back in the Hall of Origin, lounging on the Living Room's couch.

"How did I do?" asked Mew. He felt a certain thrill after successfully hosting an episode.

"You did amazing." Victini pulled Mew into a tight hug.

"Wow, Victini... If you were this nice to everyone..." Mew joked.

Victini sniffed as his eyes started to water. A few teardrops fell onto Mew shoulders before Mew pulled back in surprise. "Whoa-hoa-hoa! Victini, Victini! Are you okay?"

Victini gently wiped Mew's shoulder before aggressively wiping his own eyes. "Sorry..." He looked Mew in the face, giving him a strained smile. "I'm just...so happy to see how this turned out. I love you so much!"

Mew's eyes widened. "I-I...love you too, Victini." He slowly let go of Victini. "We're best friends, right?"

Victini shook his head, turning away. "Right, right! Best friends!" he repeated. "I'm going to bed now...uh..."

"Night."

"G-" As he floated off to his own room, he saw someone round the corner into the Living Room.

_Arceus_.

Quickly, Victini backpedaled over to Mew. "UH, actually, let's go do some...paperwork in my room! Fun!"

Mew groaned, face palming. "_Really_?"

"Yup! Struggles of being a host, y-you know!"

Arceus spotted the two of them and rolled her eyes as Victini teleported away with Mew.

000

The contestants were returning to the mansion after Ann's elimination, currently cutting through the forest.

Jared walked next to Arlo. "Some elimination, huh?" He nervously laughed, gripping the hem of his anime shirt.

Arlo gave him a side-long glance. He moved his arms behind his back and held his hands together, stretching. "Eh..." he grunted. "It wasn't that shocking to be honest..." The Aipom's mouth curved into a wry smile; he found pleasure thinking about how idiotic the whole fiasco was. "Ann was weak, and compared to Cosmoem and Grayson, she's _very_ weak. She poisoned Phoenix and payed the price for it. Simple - as - that..." he sighed.

Jared immediately grimaced at Arlo's 'reasoning'. He had no reason to believe Ann was the one who deserved to leave. Especially with such an outrageous accusation.

"Look, I'm pretty you've seen it. I've seen it. We've all seen these types of shows before!" Jared looked over to Cosmoem. "Every time we lose, instead of voting off the villain, we vote for the person who supposedly lost challenge for us, _or _someone who we just don't like. It keeps going like that until the bad guy eventually has enough numbers to overpower the rest of us! Then they'll go ahead, lose every challenge and get rid of everyone!"

Arlo laughed, holding his chest. "Who? Cosmoem? Ha! Who would want to work with him? Besides, the three of us aren't even on the same team!"

Jared crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest. "It doesn't matter what team he's on! He has his ways! It happens with every one of these shows."

Arlo's covered his mouth with a hand, reflecting Jared's solemn expression. He couldn't help but agree... "You are right about that one..." A muffled groan escaped his mouth. "And to add insult to injury, all of the hosts are complete assholes, so they'll always side with the bad guy for ratings and crap."

"Right? So, we should..."

Arlo gave Jared a dispassionate gaze. He knew exactly where this was going.

"..._Make an alliance_?" Arlo cut in.

Jared put a claw up before slouching and dropping his arms. "Well, I was gonna say: 'work together'... You know, until we get rid of Cosmoem and everything."

Arlo tapped his feet, ready to end the conversation. "Yeah, sure. Whatever..." He turned away. "I don't see how we're supposed to accomplish anything when each of us are on different teams, but we'll see how it goes."

Jared smiled ineptly, standing straight with his shoulders tensed up. "G-Good! Let's...change the future!"

Arlo paused, giving Jared a quizzical look before yawning and stretching again. "Right..." he muttered, walking ahead of Jared.

Jared loosened up his body and shook his head, running after the rest of the contestants. Once he was off-screen, loud banging sounds could be heard. They got increasingly louder until-

**000**

**VOTES:**

**Ann - Brazier, Calvin, Cosmoem, Marshall.**

**Brazier - Ann.**

**Cosmoem - Pax, Kyle, Grayson.**

**Grayson - Serenity, Bryson, Robin?**

**Robin - Lily.**

**Serenity - Emily.**

**000**

**COMPETITORS REMAINING: 53**

**The Slummers: Brazier, Bryson, Calvin, Cosmoem, Emily, Grayson, Kyle, Lily, Marshall, Pax, Robin, and Serenity. (12)**

**The W's: Arlo, Cameron, Diancie, Holt, Leonardo, Loek, Mack, Mist, Nova, Tina, Viola, Vontell, Xavier, and Zevulun. (14)**

**The Overgrown Brambles: Berri, Bubble, Drew, Gemmi, Grover, Jared, Kip, Lance, Maxine, Rita, Satoshi, Winthrop, and Zero. (13)**

**The Heart of the Game: April, Charlotte, Echo, Esther, Jordan, Loki, Nemeia, Octavia, Paige, Pearla, Sage, Travis, Vanessa, and Zenith. (14)**

**000**

**Hoy, hoy! The second chapter's over! Whaddya think? Did you enjoy it, did you really, really hate it? You're welcome to give constructive criticism in the comments. It helps improve my writing.**

**With that out of the way, the following section is just gonna be me talking about the contestant who was eliminated a little bit. You can choose to read it if you want, but it's not vital to the story.**

**The Pokémon eliminated this episode: Ann and Phoenix. Now this story has had three different versions, this being the final one. The first version was very bare bones, there were only sixteen contestants (all of them being here still).**

**The first version didn't even give them names, they were just called by their species. While Ann wasn't in the first version, Phoenix was. And basically, Phoenix had no personality. Like most of the contestants in V1! If they did have a persona, it was very boring. Trust me. I might upload it at some point, but it only made it to one chapter before I concurred it was pretty cringe worthy and was generally written bad.**

**Now, usually I wouldn't pick such a generic, overused Pokémon like Pikachu, but when I wrote the first few paragraphs for V1, I took the whole thing as a joke. It was supposed to be some joke story that I put little effort into. Buuuuut, after a certain friend read it and gave me constructive criticism on that piece of... I suddenly felt the need to actually make it good.**

**So, I wrote a bunch more pages to almost conclude chapter one and then soon gave up on it to write V2.**

**Now, V2 was a MAJOR improvement to V1, it was written way better...but it was still pretty trash compared to V3. V2 introduced Ann (along with a bunch others) and well...she also had no personality. She was supposed to be the "cool, laid-back girl", but I didn't execute it so well. Phoenix remained pretty much the same.**

**Now, onto V3! Well, you read it, right? Phoenix formed into the happy, energetic Pikachu that ended up getting poisoned around the end of the chapter. And Ann...well...still no personality? I'm not sure on that one. She just felt like a normal character who ended up poisoning someone. That doesn't sound so normal...**

**Anyway, I'm done here... Thanks again for reading, I really appreciate it. LIKE A LOT! Seriously.**

**Alrighty, bye!**


	3. The Unfortunate End

Hey, guys! I'd like to apologize to everyone who was actually following/interested in this story. Unfortunately, it's cancelled.

The good things is, though... I'm rebooting it! It's definitely a lot better than this one, so go check it out! For one, there's 20 contestants instead of 54, so that's a plus.

Anyway, thanks for reading! Maybe one day I'll come back to this... One day...


End file.
